LIBRARY   OF    THE    COMMANDERY    OF 
THE  STATE  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  MILITARY 
ORDER  OFTHE   LOYAL  LEGION  OF   THE 
UNITED  STATES 

CADET   ARMORY,    BOSTON 

'^■"■-       ■//.'//'      .  I /,;. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


y^;^^'^ 


THE  WILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIVIL  WAR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2010  witli  funding  from 

University  of  Nortli  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.arGhive.org/details/fromheadquarters01frye 


FROM    HEADQUARTERS 


ODD    TALES 


PICKED    UP    IN    THE    VOLUNTEER    SERVICE 


JAMES    ALBERT    FRYE 


BOSTON 
ESTES    AND    LAURIAT 

1893 


Copyright,  1S92 
BT 

JAMES    ALBERT    FUYE 


TO    THE 

FIRST      INFANTRY 

M.V.M, 


PREFACE. 


oJ*Jc 


IN  the  odd  though  truthful  tales  here 
brought  together — of  which,  by  the 
way,  some  already  have  been  in  print  — 
there  is  not  the  slightest  attempt  at  pen 
portraiture,  nor  is  there  any  pretence  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  military  historian ;  in  other 
words,  this  is  a  collection  of  chance  yarns, 
and  not  a  portrait  gallery  —  and  no  one  is 
asked  to  believe  that  either  the  Nineteenth 
Army  Corps  or  the  "  Old  Regiment "  ever 
were  found  in  any  situations  like  those  in 
which  they  here  find  themselves  placed. 

This  book,  perhaps,  may  fall  into  the 
hands  of  one  of  those  —  and  they  are  far 
too  many  —  whose  habit  it  is  to  scoff  at  the 
volunteer  service,  and  to  look  askance  at  all 


vi  PREFACE. 

who  enter  it.  I  sincerely  trust  that  it  may, 
for  I  wish  to  say  —  and  in  all  earnestness  — 
that  the  militia  of  today  is  not  the  militia  of 
thirty,  twenty,  or  even  ten  years  ago  ;  that 
nowadays  the  incompetent  and  the  vicious 
are  allowed  to  remain  in  civil  life,  and  are 
not  given  places  in  the  ranks  of  the  volun- 
teers ;  and  that  those  who  take  the  solemn 
oath  of  enlistment  do  so  with  the  full  un- 
derstanding that  they  will  be  required  to 
devote  their  time,  their  money,  and  their 
best  energies  to  the  service,  and  that  they 
have  assumed  an  obligation  to  fit  them- 
selves carefully  and  intelligently  for  the 
duties  of   a  soldier. 

The  volunteer  service  of  the  present  time 
means,  to  those  who  find  themselves  enrolled 
in  it,  something  more  than  a  mere  pastime  ; 
and  if  those  who  hold  it  in  small  esteem 
could  but  know  of  the  faithful,  conscien- 
tious, and  untiring  work  that,  from  year's 
end  to  year's  end,  is  being  done  in  armory 
and  camp,  they  would  leave  unsaid,  it  seems 


PREFACE.  VU 

to  me,  the  half-contemptuous  words  that 
too  often  come  to  the  ears  of  the  hard-work- 
ing, long-suffering,  and  unrewarded  citizen- 
soldier. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  best  is  none  too 
good  for  the  service  of  the  Commonwealth. 
If  this  be  true,  —  and  who  can  question  it  ? 
—  the  stigma  of  whatever  blemishes  have 
been  found  in  the  militia  must  be  borne  by 
those  men  of  ability  and  position  who,  while 
ever  ready  to  point  out  weaknesses  and 
faults,  negligently  have  left  to  hands  less 
competent,  or,  it  may  be,  less  worthy,  the 
work  which  they  themselves  were  in  honor 
bound  to  do. 

J.  A.  F. 


CONTENTS. 


•otoic 


The  Pluck  of  Captain  Pender,  C.S.N.  .       1 

One  Record  on  the  Regimental  Rolls  .     37 

Our  Horse  "Acme"  .         .         .  .65 

From  beyond  the  Pyramids        .         .  .91 

The  Hytun  that  helped     .         .         .  .121 

The  Seventh  Major  .         .         .  .153 

Concerning  the  Value  of  Sleep      .  .185 


THE     PLUCK 


CAPTAIN     PENDER,    C.S.N. 


THE     PLUCK 


CAPTAIN     PENDER,    C.S.N. 


WELL  up  town,  something  above  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  beyond  the  massive, 
battlemented  armory  in  which  we 
of  the  Third  Infantry  have  our  headquarters, 
a  side  street,  branching  off  from  one  of  the 
main  thoroughfares,  ambitiously  stretches 
away  until  it  finds  its  farther  progress 
barred  by  a  high,  stone-capped,  brick  wall. 
There  it  stops.  Beyond  lie  the  quadruple 
tracks  of  a  railway,  over  which,  all  day 
long — and,  for  that  matter,  all  night,  too 
—  thunder  the  coming  and  going  trains, 
with  such  an  outpouring  of  smoke  and 
downpouring  of  cinders  that  it  is  small 
wonder  that  a  quiet  street,  such  as  this  one 
pretends  to  be,  should  have  lost  all  desire 
to  continue  its  course  in  that  direction. 


2  THE    PLUCK    OF 

A  few  paces  from  the  end  of  the  cul-de-sac 
formed  by  the  halting  street  and  the  obstruct- 
ing wall,  and  facing  a  lamp-post  which  awk- 
wardly rears  itself  up  from  the  curbstone  to 
present  for  inspection  a  glass  2)anel  lettered 
"  Battery  Court,"  there  is  —  in  one  of  the 
long  row  of  houses  —  an  opening  which  looks 
like  the  entrance  to  a  tunnel. 

In  point  of  fact,  it  is  the  entrance  to  a 
tunnel,  for,  in  order  to  reach  the  court 
which  lies  hidden  beyond,  one  has  to  grope 
throutrh  fifty  feet  of  brick-bound  darkness. 
And  even  when  that  venture  has  been 
made,  the  change  from  shade  to  light  is  not 
a  startling  one,  for  the  court  is  small  and  en- 
tirely surrounded  by  lofty  buildings,  so  that 
one  standing  in  it  and  looking  up  at  the  patch 
of  blue  sky  overhead  feels  much  as  if  he  had 
landed  at  the  bottom  of  a  well,  and  instinc- 
tively glances  about  in  search  of  a  rope  by 
which  to  climb  up  and  out  again. 

It  is  an  odd  corner  —  and  oddly  utilized. 
All  around  it  stretch  streets  of  dwellings, 
but  in  this  silent  and  dim  court  the  few 
structures  are  plainly  and  solidly  built,  and 
heavily  shuttered  with  iron,  for  they  all  are 
devoted    to    storage.       It   was   the    lack   of 

R8C 
NcU 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.S.N.  3 

breathing  space,  I  dare  say,  and  the  close 
proximity  of  the  railway  that  made  this  nook 
undesirable  for  any  other  purpose  ;  and  in 
all  probability  "  Battery  Court "  would  be 
unknown  to-day  if  we  had  not  happened  to 
stumble  upon  it  in  our  search  for  a  place 
where  we  could  pitch  our  tent,  without 
being  forced  to  pitch  after  it  a  king's  ran- 
som in  the  shape  of  rent. 

Facing  the  dark  passageway  which  offers 
the  only  avenue  for  escape  to  the  street  be- 
yond, and  entirely  filling  one  end  of  the 
court,  there  looms  up  a  five-storied  ware- 
house. For  four  stories  it  bears  a  perfect 
family  resemblance  to  its  companions  on 
either  hand,  and  up  to  that  height  its  dull, 
red  bricks  and  rusty,  red  iron  entitle  it  to 
no  distinction  whatever.  But  the  fifth 
story  is  altogether  another  story,  and 
though  from  an  architect's  point  of  view 
it  might  seem  wofully  incongruous,  yet  to 
our  eyes  it  is  supremely  satisfying — for 
we   did  it. 

Yes,  the  fifth  story  of  that  old  warehouse 
asserts  itself  like  a  diamond  pin  in  a  soiled 
and  rumpled  scarf,  for  the  mansard  roof  with 
its    galvanized-iron   trimmings,   which   once 


4  THE    PLUCK    OF 

made  it  appear  no  more  respectable  than  it 
ought  to  be,  has  given  place  to  a  long,  well- 
glazed,  dormer  window,  finished  on  the  out- 
side with  heavy  timbering  and  rough  plaster 
work,  and  fitted  with  swinging  sashes 
through  whose  many  panes  the  southern  sun 
may  shine  without  let  or  hinderance,  save 
when,  in  summer  months,  a  wide,  striped 
awning  ^'"^I'i'ies  the  hottest  rays.  In  every 
sense  of  the  word  it  is  a  great  window,  and 
—  as  I  and  many  another  ofllcer  of  the  Third 
can  testify  —  the  comfortal)le,  cushioned  seat 
which  runs  its  entire  length  has  many  at- 
tractions for  a  lazy,  tobacco-loving  man. 
Above  the  window,  and  crowning  glory  of 
all,  a  straight  and  slender  spar  points  sky- 
ward, from  which,  on  sunny  days,  floats  a 
great,  white  flag,  bearing  in  mid-field  the 
blue  Maltese  cross,  on  which  the  figure  ''  3  " 
is  disj^layed:  for  the  present  Third  is  the  suc- 
cessor of  a  "  fighting  regiment,"  and  we 
proudly  preserve  the  old  corps'  device  and 
the  traditions  that  go  with  it. 

So  much  for  the  outside  of  our  nightly 
gathering-place. 

Within-doors  the  effect  is  even  more  sur- 
prising, for  the  four  long  and  dusty  flights  of 


CAPTAIX    PENDER,    C.S.N.  5 

dimly-lighted  stairs  give  no  hint  of  the 
cheery  quarters  up  to  which  they  lead  the 
way.  Once  they  had  their  termination  in  a 
loft  —  a  bare,  rougli,  unfinished  loft ;  but 
we  have  changed  all  that,  and  now  it  would 
be  hard  to  find  at  any  club  in  town  a  cosier 
spot.  Thirty  feet  from  side  to  side  the  great 
room  stretches,  and  twice  that  from  front  to 
rear  ;  ample  room,  yet  none  too  much  for  our 
needs,  for  our  friends  are  many,  and  the 
times  are  not  infrequent  when  we  find  even 
these  quarters  crowded.  At  the  southern 
end,  almost  from  wall  to  wall,  extends  the 
long  window,  with  its  softly  cushioned  seat 
—  a  vantage  point  that  never  lacks  for 
tenants.  Midway  of  one  side  wall  the  great 
fireplace  yawns,  waiting  for  the  sharp,  cold 
nights  when  the  load  of  logs  iq)on  its  iron 
fire-dogs  shall  be  called  upon  to  send  the 
smoke  wreathing  and  curling  up  the  chim- 
ney's broad  and  blackened  throat. 

Above  the  wide  mantel-shelf  are  crossed 
two  faded  colors,  hanging  motionless  from 
their  staves,  save  when  some  stray  current  of 
air  idly  stirs  their  tarnished,  golden  fringes : 
"  Old  Glory,"  with  its  stripes  and  star-sown 
field,  is  one  ;  the   other,  the  white  banner  of 


THE    PLUCK    OF 


the  Commonwealth,  beneath  Avhose  crest  tlie 
ever-watchful  Indian  stands  guard.  In  a 
long,  glittering  row,  below  the  mantel,  hang 
the  polished  pewter  mugs,  swinging  expect- 
antly, each  upon  its  hook,  and  seeming  to 
say  —  as  they  flash  back  the  sunbeams,  or  re- 
flect the  light  of  tlie  lire  below  — ''  Come, 
fill  us,  em})ty  us :  and  have  done  with  the 
worries  of  the  day  I "' 

Furniture?  Yes,  there's  a  plenty.  Front- 
ing the  hospitable  fireplace  a  long,  oaken  table 
stands  sturdily  upon  its  solid  legs,  as  indeed 
it  must  —  for  often  and  often,  when  the  fire 
is  crackling,  it  lias  to  bear  a  load  of  lazy  sol- 
diers, wlio  delight  to  roost  along  its  edge  and 
match  the  logs  in  smoking:  chairs  enough 
there  are  to  be  sure,  but  somehow  there 
comes  a  greater  sense  of  comfort  and  ease  to 
one  who  perches  on  a  table's  edge.  Beneath 
a  trophy  of  Arab  swords  and  spears  stands 
the  bookcase,  on  whose  shelves  the  literature 
ranges  from  Tibdall,  Upton,  and  the  long 
and  ever-lengthening  series  of  solemn  black 
"  Reports,"  to  the  crazy  yarns  of  Lever,  and 
the  books  whose  backs  bear  the  names  of 
Captain  King  and  Kipling.  In  one  corner 
the  upright  piano,  in  its  ebony  case,  has  its 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.S.N.  7 

station  — ■  and  here  our  lieutenant-colonel 
holds  command  undisputed,  for  his  touch 
upon  the  ivory  keys  can  make  the  rafters 
ring  with  the  airs  that  we  all  know  and 
like  the  best ;  not  far  away,  a  pillowed  lounge 
stands  waiting  for  an  occupant ;  and  all  about 
are  scattered  small  tables,  ready  for  the 
whist  players.  A  few  rugs  and  half  a  dozen 
deer-skins  litter  the  floor ;  while  here  and 
there,  along  the  walls,  are  fixed  the  heads 
and  horns  of  elk  and  mountain  sheep  — •  for 
there  are  two  among  us  who  spend  their 
leaves  each  year  far  in  the  West,  amid  the  big 
game.  Everywhere  there  are  pictures :  en- 
gravings, etchings,  colored  prints,  and,  last 
and  most  of  all,  photographs  by  the  dozen,  and 
almost  by  the  hundred  —  for  we  of  the  Third 
always  have  borne  a  reputation  for  unflinch- 
ingly facing  the  camera. 

This  is  "  The  Battery." 

Yes,  this  is  The  Battery,  and  here  you  may 
drop  in  on  any  niglit  with  the  certainty  of 
finding  a  pipe  and  a  mug,  and  good  fellows 
in  plenty  with  whom  to  pass  the  time  of  day 
and  pick  to  bits  the  latest  thing  in  the  way 
of  general  orders. 

What  gave  it  the  name  /     I   cannot  tell. 


8  THE    PLUCK    OF 

I  only  know  tliat  we  always  have  spoken  of 
it  thus,  perhaps  because  of  the  shining  brass 
howitzers  that  stand  on  end,  one  on  either 
side  of  the  chimney-piece.  At  odd  times,  to 
be  sure,  we  have  talked  of  giving  the  old  sky- 
parlor  some  more  high-sounding  title,  l)utthe 
years  have  gone  by  without  ever  our  getting 
to  it,  and  tlie  name  which  first  was  thrown 
at  the  place  has  stuck  to  it.  And  now,  since 
Pollard,  our  junior  major,  has  used  his  influ- 
ence in  municipal  politics  to  have  the  name  of 
the  court  changed  to  correspond,  the  chances 
are  that  "•  The  Battery"  it  will  be,  so  long  as 
the  Third  stands /?/'.s^  in  the  service  — which, 
we  fondly  hope,  will  be  always. 

One  night  in  December  we  had  been 
having  a  battalion  drill  at  the  armory,  and  — 
an  occurrence  by  no  means  uncommon  —  a 
goodly  array  of  officers  from  other  regiments 
had  come  over  to  see  our  work,  and  openly 
congratulate  us  upon  the  beauty  of  it,  while 
secretly  hugging  to  their  hearts  the  convic- 
tion that  thei/  could  do  the  same  things  twice 
as  well.  When  the  armory  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme had  been  put  out  of  the  way,  we  all 
adjourned  to  The  Battery,  and  there  —  after 
Sam  had  relieved  the  visitors  of  their  heavy, 


CAPTAIN    PENTJEE,     C.S.N.  9 

military  coats,  which  he  folded  and  stacked 
upon  a  chair,  like  so  many  cheap  ulsters  in  a 
ready-made  clothing  store  —  our  guests  went 
'round  the  room  on  the  usual  tour  of  inspec- 
tion, while  those  of  us  who  had  not  detailed 
ourselves  to  act  as  guides  helped  Sam  to  load 
the  long  table  with  pewters. 

Presently  all  the  mugs  had  been  filled  with 
beer,  and  at  a  glance  from  the  colonel  we 
gathered  about  him.  "  Gentlemen  of  the 
Third,"  he  said,  raising  his  froth-capped  mug, 
"  our  guests  !  " —  and  upon  this  hint  we  drank 
heartily,  and  verj'  willingly  indeed,  to  the  visit- 
ing officers  whom  we  had  with  us.  Then  Major 
Wilson,  the  senior  of  our  guests,  proposed 
our  healths,  and  with  the  conclusion  of  this 
simple  ceremony  we  laid  aside  all  formality, 
and  scattered  ourselves  over  the  room,  while 
Sam  passed  around  the  tray  of  pipes  and  the 
great  Japanese  jar  of  cut-plug. 

Each  equipped  with  corn-cob  and  mug  — 
for  our  tastes  are  not  luxurious,  and  beer  and 
tobacco  amply  satisfy  them  —  we  split  up 
into  groups,  and  as  the  smoke-cloud  became 
more  dense  the  talk  grew  louder,  until  the 
clatter  of  mugs,  the  humming  monotone  of 
many   voices,    and   the   frequent    bursts    of 


10  THK    PLUCK    OF 

lauerhter  combined  to  drown  the  sound  of 
the  hissing  and  crackling  logs  in  the  fire- 
place. 

"Is  that  one  of  your  trophies,  Major?" 
asked  Kenryck,  of  tlie  brigade  staff,  speaking 
to  Sawin,  our  surgeon,  and  nodding  uj)  at  a 
huge  pair  of  moose  horns  upon  the  wail 
above  the  mantel. 

"No,  that's  a  contribution  from  tlie 
colonel,"  replied  Sawin,  alias  "  Bones,"  set- 
ting down  his  mug  and  wiping  liis  mustache 
as  he  spoke.  "  Langforth  and  I  plead  guilty 
to  the  slaughter  of  most  of  these  horns  and 
hides,  for  we're  the  '  mighty  hunters  '  of  this 
aggregation,  but  that  pair  of  antlers  fell  to 
someone  else's  rifle.  Splendid  pair,  eh? 
There's  a  sort  of  story  goes  with  'em,  too. 
Ask  the  colonel." 

"  Yes,  there  is  a  story  connected  with  that 
pair,"  said  Colonel  Elliott,  who,  from  his  side 
of  the  table,  overheard  tlie  doctor's  sug-cres- 
tion.  He  rose,  transferred  his  chair  and  mug 
to  a  position  next  Kenryck,  and  continued  : 
"  In  fact,  when  we  began  to  fit  up  this  place, 
we  made  it  a  rule  not  to  admit  amoncv  the 
decorations  anything  which  didn't  have  a 
history  of  some  sort.     So,  you  see.  The  Bat- 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.S.N.  11 

teiy  is  rather  an  interesting  establishment, 
and  if  any  of  us  had  time  or  taste  for  that 
sort  of  thing  we  could  get  up  a  good-sized 
book  without  having  to  go  outside  these 
walls  to  hunt  for  material." 

"  It's  a  mighty  interesting  outfit —  the  whole 
of  it,"  said  Kenryck,  glancing  up  and  down 
the  long  room,  and  noting  the  collection  of 
odds  and  ends  upon  the  walls  and  in  every 
nook  and  corner.  "  We're  pretty  well  fixed, 
up  at  our  headquarters,  but  we've  nothing  so 
homelike  as  this.  The  general  often  says 
that  he  enjoys  nothing  more  than  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  Third,  with  a  'wind-up'  after- 
wards up  here.  Possibly  you've  noticed 
that,  on  occasions  of  that  sort,  his  whole  staff 
is  apt  to  come  with  him." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  colonel  dryly,  remember- 
ing the  extra  cases  of  beer  which  have  to 
be  laid  in  against  such  emergencies  as  aa 
official  visit  from  the  brigade  staff ;  "  yes, 
I've  noticed  it.  It's  very  flattering  to  us, 
I'm  sure." 

Kenryck  must  have  been  aware  of  some- 
thing in  the  colonel's  tone,  for  he  promptly 
drew  upon  his  reserve  supply  of  tact  and  said, 
"  Do  you  mind  telling  me  the  story  of  those 


12  rnE  PLUCK   of 

horns?  Its  worth  hearing.  I  know,  for 
Sawin  ])nt  nie  up  to  asking   for  it." 

"  It's  an  ohl  storv  to  '  Bones,"  ""  said  the 
colonel,  adding,  as  Sam  passed  him,  "  Break 
into  another  case,  Sam,  and  then  clmck  a 
con])le  more  sticks  into  the  lire." 

"It  must  be  a  good  one.  tlien,  or  he  never 
would  have  let  me  in  for  it,"  remarked 
Kenryck. 

"I  wouldn't  be  too  sure  of  tliat,"  said  the 
colonel,  laughing  :  "  the  doctor's  capable  of 
almost  anything  inhuman,  and  he  may  be 
paying  off  an  old  score,  for  all  ijoxi  know, 
by  letting  you  in  for  a  twenty-minute  bore. 
'Bones,'  what's  your  grudge  against  Ken- 
ryck ?  " —  but  the  surgeon  had  joined  a  grouj) 
at  another  table,  and  so  tlie  colonel,  getting 
no  reply  to  his  question,  went  on  :  "  Do  you 
see  that  little  ivory  plate  fastened  to  the 
shield  on  which  the  horns  are  mounted? 
Well,  that  bears  an  inscription  something  like 
this : 

|iohn  :fi{ttvnt>cn  ^icnbcr,  ®.^.^,, 

to 

gjenrvj  GBUiott,  lii.^.$», 

^an'y   29th,  1871. 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.S.N.  13 

"•  And  the  story  is  not  a  long  one : 
"  My  father  was  interested  in  shipping, 
and  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  owned 
quite  a  respectable  little  fleet  of  vessels. 
Most  of  them  were  employed  in  coastwise 
trade,  but  he  had  something  like  three  or 
four  square-riggers  winging  it  back  and 
forth  between  here  and  England  —  and  some- 
times, though  rarely,  one  of  his  vessels 
would  make  a  longer  voyage,  to  Bombay,  or 
'round  the  Horn  to  Frisco.  Ah,  those  were 
the  good  old  days  !  when  the  harbor  was 
crowded  with  shipping,  and  at  least  every 
other  ship  flew  the  stars  and  stripes,"  and 
the  colonel  raised  his  mug  to  his  lips,  as  if 
drinking  to  the  past  glories  of  our  merchant 
marine. 

"  It  must  have  been  a  pleasant  sight,"  said 
Kenryck,  in  the  pause  incident  to  this  opera- 
tion. "  I'm  a  young  man,  and  can't  remem- 
ber that  time,  but  now-days  it's  sort  of 
pathetic  to  see  the  harbor  filled  with  huge 
steamers  under  foreign  bunting,  while  here 
and  there  along  the  docks  a  few  wretched  lit- 
tle schooners  represent  our  maritime  dignity." 
"Yes,  it's  pathetic  enough,"  said  the 
colonel,    "but   it's     more     humiliating    than 


14  TFfE    PLUCK    OF 

pathetic.  However,  we  can't  go  into  the 
discussion  of  what  knocked  in  the  liead  our 
ocean  carryinsr  trade  without  runnincr  foul 
of  politics,  and  politics  are  harred,  up  here  in 
The  Battery. 

"  Well,  to  get  back  to  my  story  :  my  father 
naturally  had  quite  an  ac([uaintanee  among 
Englishmen,  and  in  Liverpool  there  was  an 
old  party  named  McClintock,  with  wliom,  in 
particular,  he  had  very  extensive  dealings. 
In  course  of  time  he  and  my  governor  be- 
came great  chums,  and  finally  it  got  so  that 
once  in  two  years,  and  sometimes  oftener, 
one  or  the  other  of  them  would  cross  the 
pond,  nominally  on  business,  but  really  for 
a  visit.  Lord  !  how  well  I  can  remember  old 
David  McClintock  —  '  Mac,'  my  governor 
used  to  call  liim.  S(]^uare-built  and  stocky, 
hearty  and  bluff,  intellectually  sure,  but 
mvfully  slow  —  he  certainly  was  a  man  to 
make  an  impression,  for  he  represented  a 
type  with  which  we  are  not  over-familiar  on 
this  side  the  water.  I  can't  forget  how  he 
used  to  laugh  at  the  governor's  yarns  :  ten 
minutes  would  go  by  without  any  sign  of 
comj)rehension  from  him  ;  then  he  would  be- 
gin  to  shake  ;   and    finally  the  spasm  would 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.S.N.  15 

pass  away,  leaving  him  gasping  for  breath, 
and  scarlet  in  the  face.  Really,  Kenryck, 
I  used  to  worry  about  old  Mac,  at  those 
times,  for  his  internal  mirth  was  something 
awful,  and  it  made  me  fear  for  his  blood- 
vessels." 

"  I  know  a  man  like  that,"  put  in  Kenryck, 
"  and  it  makes  me  nervous  to  be  near  him 
when  anything  amuses  him.  But  somehow, 
Colonel,  he  seems  to  get  more  satisfaction, 
from  his  silent  way  of  laughing  than  most 
men  do  who  laugh  out  loud," 

"  The  last  time  that  McClintock  came  over 
to  this  side,"  continued  the  colonel,  after  a 
glance  at  the  antlers  and  the  faded  colors 
crossed  below  them,  "  was  in  '  60.  He 
brought  his  daughter  with  him  —  a  pretty 
girl,  too;  about  eighteen  at  that  time.  I'm 
not  making  any  ofticial  statement,  Kenryck, 
but  I've  always  thought  that  the  two  old 
gentlemen  had  j^ut  their  heads  together  with 
an  idea  of  arranging  an  international  mar- 
riage, in  which  one  of  the  leading  parts  was 
to  have  been  assigned  to  me.  It  may  be, 
though,  that  my  suspicions  have  been  un- 
founded, for  there  certainly  never  was  any- 
thing said  about  it.     Anyway,  if  either  old 


16  THE    PLUCK    OF 

Mac  or  my  governor  liad  been  indulging  in 
any  schemes  of  that  sort,  they  were  destined 
to  disappointment,  because,  firstly,  I  had 
reasons  for  tliinking  that  a  certain  little 
Boston  girl  was  about  the  proper  thing  for 
me,  and  secondl}- — and  a  clincher  on 
obstacle  number  one  —  little  Bess  McClin- 
tock  took  a  strong  dislike  to  me.  Never  quite 
understood  wliy,^''  said  the  colonel,  medita- 
tively tugging  at  his  mustache,  "  and  don't 
yet.  I  thought  that  most  girls  rather  liked  me, 
in  those  days.  Probably  she  saw  through  the 
whole  business  —  for  she  was  a  level-headed 
little  chap  —  and  got  huffed  at  the  idea  of 
being  '  managed.' "" 

"Yes?"  said  Kenryck,  with  a  rising  in- 
flection which  hinted  at  a  lack  of  any  very 
lively  interest  in  what  was  being  said,  and 
led  the  colonel  to  continue  :  "  Well,  all  this 
is  neither  here  nor  there,  Kenryck,  and  you 
must  pardon  me  for  getting  away  from  my 
yarn.  But  a  pipe  and  a  good  listener  always 
tempt  me  to  talk  along  rather  aimlessly. 

"  When  old  Mac  and  his  daughter  came 
for  their  visit,  we  had  with  us  a  young  fel- 
low named  Pender,  from  Charleston.  He 
was  the  son  of  a  man  with  whom  mv  father, 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.S.N.  17 

in  the  course  of  his  southern  trade,  had  a 
very  considerable  amount  of  business,  and  he 
had  come  north  to  settle  up  some  matter  or 
other — just  what,  I  forget.  Gad  !  but  he  was 
a  hot-headed  little  chap  !  At  that  time,  you 
know,  feeling  was  beginning  to  run  pretty 
high,  and  I  had  to  do  some  pretty  sharp 
manoeuvering  in  order  to  keep  peace  in  our 
house,  for  my  father  was  uncompromisingly 
patriotic,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  favor 
abolition,  while  Pender  —  well,  Pender  was 
a  southerner  to  the  core,  and  went  in,  neck- 
or-nothing,  for  the  '  Sacred  Institution,'  and 
States'  Rights,  and  all  those  things  over  which 
later  we  went  to  fighting.  It  was  a  cheerful 
day  for  me  when  he  finished  up  his  business 
and  went  back  home,  for  though  in  some 
ways  I  liked  him  well  enough,  yet  while  he 
was  at  our  house  I  never  sat  down  to  a 
meal  without  an  uncomfortable  feeling  that 
at  any  minute  some  chance  remark  might 
fire  a  train  that  would  bring  about  a  general 
explosion. 

"  It  always  seems  strange  to  me,  when  I 
remember  the  radical  difference  in  tempera- 
ment, but  old  McClintock  developed  quite 
a  liking  for  Pender.     To  be  sure,  he  didn't 


18  TnE    PLUCK    OF 

fall  in  with  all  of  his  ideas,  biit  he  liad  a 
certain  amount  of  sympathy  for  the  southern 
view  of  the  situation,  and  lie  used  to  reply  to 
my  governor's  criticisms  (if  Pender  with,  'Eh, 
but  he's  a  spirited  lad,  ^-e  know  —  a  spirited 
lad.  Bide  a  wee,  Elliott,  bide  a  wee.  Years 
will  give  the  boy  more  wisdom.' 

"  Well,  in  due  time  old  Mac  and  his 
daughter  went,  and  the  war  came,"  went  on 
Colonel  Elliott,  after  a  pause  which  lessened 
by  half  a  ])int  the  contents  of  his  mug.  "  I 
went  out  with  the  'Old  Regiment,'  and  for 
the  better  part  of  four  years  I  was  a  stranger 
to  this  part  of  tlie  country.  When  finally  I 
came  liome  for  good  and  all,  I  found  my 
father  j'ctired  from  business,  and  in  feeble 
health.  His  little  Heet  had  disappeared. 
For  some  of  the  vessels  which  once  composed 
it  the  Alahama  cotild  have  accounted,  ami 
the  general  feeling  of  insecurity  in  sliiiiping 
circles  had  caused  him  to  sell  the  rest.  In 
''o'd  the  governor  died,  and  about  a  month 
afterwards  I  received  a  letter  from  old  ]\lac, 
in  which  he  expressed  the  deepest  sorrow, 
and  said  that  I  must  come  to  see  him  in 
Liverpool,  since  he  had  determined  never 
again  to  visit  the  States. 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.8.N.  19 

"  Pender  I  had  lost  sight  of,  and  almost 
had  forgotten,  for  with  my  father's  retire- 
ment from  business  I  h:)st  touch  with  many 
of  our  old  friends  and  acquaintances,  and 
besides,  the  war  rather  cleaned  the  slate  of 
our  southern  connections.'' 

"  There  must  have  been  a  funny  state  of 
affairs  in  business,  right  after  the  war,"  ob- 
served Kenryck,  making  a  gallant  attempt 
to  conceal  a  yawn,  and,  by  the  aid  of  his 
sheltering  mug,  succeeding  in  his  effort. 

"  There  tvas,'"  said  the  colonel,  "  and  for 
some  time  afterwards,  too.  It  took  more 
than  one  year  for  northern  business  men  to 
forget  some  slight  irregularities  which  showed 
themselves  in  the  course  of  trade  about  that 
period. 

"•  Well,  after  I'd  hung  up  my  sword, 
had  my  commission  and  discharge  properly 
framed,  and  told  my  war  stories  to  every- 
one who  could  be  induced  to  listen  to  them, 
I  began  to  look  about  for  an  occupation.  I 
ended  up  by  drifting  into  marine  insurance. 

"One  forenoon,  early  in  '71  —  the  29th  of 
January,  according  to  that  little  plate  up  there 
on  the  horns  —  I  was  sitting  in  my  office  and 
wrestling  with  the  question  whether  I  should 


20  THE    PLUCK    OF 

luucli  at  half-})a.st  twelve  or  wait  until  one. 
Business  happened  to  be  quiet  then,  you  see, 
and  so  I  was  ahle  to  "ive  a  o-ood  deal  of 
tliought  to  minor  details  like  tliat.  I  had 
just  deeided  in  favor  of  half-past  twelve,  wlien 
a  messenger  came  in  and  informed  me  that  a 
certain  Captain  I'ender  was  very  desirous  of 
having  me  come  to  tlie  county  jail  to  see  him. 
Beyond  this  l)ald  statement  I  could  get  no 
information  except  that  the  man  who  had 
sent  for  me  was  locked  up  on  a  pretty  serious 
charge — just  what,  or  how  grave,  the  mes- 
senger didn't  know. 

"This  bit  of  information  made  me  forget 
all  about  the  lunch  question,  and  I  wasted  no 
time  in  getting  over  to  tlie  jail.  And  there, 
safely  tucked  away  behind  tlie  bars,  I  found 
my  Charleston  acquaintance  of  '60  —  fuming 
and  boiling  with  rage,  and  with  the  maddest 
kind  of  rage,  too.  Why.  Pender  was  no 
lamb,  at  best,  but  when  I  got  to  him,  that 
day,  it  was  an  axew  chance  whether  he'd  kick 
down  the  walls  of  his  cell  or  bite  off  the  iron 
bars  of  the  grated  door.  And  his  language  — 
oh,  it  was  sublime !  I  was  in  active  service 
for  four  years,  Kenryck,  and  gained  some 
knowledge  of  the  power  of  ^^'ords ;  I've  stood 


CAPTAIX    PENDEll.     C.S.X.  21 

by  and  listened  to  an  army  teanister'.-i  re- 
marks to  a  team  of  balky  mules  ;  I've  even 
had  occasion  myself  to  make  brief  addresses 
to  company  skulkers  whom  I've  caught  mod- 
estly stealing-  to  the  rear  ;  but  I  7\ever  knew 
how  much  could  be  got  out  of  our  mother 
tongue  until  I  stood  outside  of  that  cell  door, 
and  heard  Pender  tell  what  he  thought  of 
the  man  who  had  managed  to  get  him  shut 
up  there." 

"  Well,  what  had  he  done  ?  "  asked  Ken- 
ryck,  as  the  colonel  paused  to  signal  for  Sam, 
by  rapping  with  his  empty  mug  upon  the 
table.  "  Had  he  shot  that  moose  out  of  sea- 
son . 

"  Bah  I  no,  he  was  in  for  a  worse  shooting 
affair  than  that,'"  replied  the  colonel,  still 
smiling  at  the  remembrance  of  Pender's  out- 
burst. "  After  he'd  cursed  himself  out  of 
breath,  and  had  been  compelled,  from  sheer 
exhaustion,  to  seat  himself  upon  the  edge  of 
his  cot,  I  managed  to  get  at  the  story  of  the 
whole  trouble.     It  ran  something  like  this  : 

'•  When  the  '  late  unpleasantness  '  began, 
Pender,  as  you  may  have  guessed,  lost  no 
time  in  taking  a  hand  in  the  game,  and  as  his 
tastes  led  him  in  that  direction  he    entered 


22  THE    PLUCK    OF 

the  confederate  naval  service  —  such  as  it 
was.  He  was  a  capable  officer,  without  any 
doubt,  and  promotion  came  rapidly  in  liis 
case,  for,  a  little  over  two  years  after  the 
war  had  begun,  he  had  reached  the  rank  of 
captain.  Now  the  other  side  never  was  very 
strong  in  the  naval  ])ranch  of  the  service,  and 
after  a  time  Pender  —  who  never  was  any 
too  patient  —  began  to  fidget  and  fuss  be- 
cause he  eouldn"t  seem  to  get  a  vessel  tliat 
suited  him,  and,  what  was  worse,  could  see  no 
prospect  of  having  one  provided  for  him. 
Well,  what  do  you  suppose  he  did?  You've 
heard  of  the  Halifax  affair  ?  " 

"No,"'  said  Kenryck,  "can't  say  that  I 
have  — or,  if  I  have,  I  don't  recall  it  now." 

"  It  was  as  plucky  an  exhibition  as  was 
put  up  by  either  side  during  the  whole  war 
—  about  the  same  sort  of  exploit  that  some 
of  our  fellows  performed  when  they  captured 
the  locomotive  inside  the  confederate  lines," 
said  the  colonel,  taking  the  replenished  mug 
which  Sam  had  brought  him.  "  Pender,  as 
I  have  said,  wanted  a  ship,  —  and  wanted  it 
l)adly,  —  so,  as  the  confederacy  wasn't  huild- 
iruj  many  at  that  time,  he  calmly  sat  down  and 
gave  his  brains  a  chance,  and  ended  up  by 


CAPTAIX     PEXDEn,     C.S.X.  23 

figuring  out  that  it  would  be  comjjaratively 
easy,  and  superlatively  cheap,  to  come  up 
north  and  help  himself  to  one, 

"  And  he  did  it,  too,  by  Jove  !  "  said  the 
colonel,  bringing  his  fist  down  with  a  thump 
upon  the  oaken  table.  "  He  just  took  his 
pick  among  the  officers  whom  he  knew,  and 
selected  an  even  half-dozen,  besides  himself, 
to  work  out  liis  little  idea.  One  by  one  they 
slipped  inside  our  lines,  and  finally  they  all 
got  together  safely  up  liere  in  Boston.  It 
must  have  been  nuts  for  Pender  —  tlie  secret 
and  solemn  conspirators'  meetings,  the  plan- 
ning and  plotting  of  when  and  how,  and  the 
stiff  seasoning  of  danger  which  gave  spice 
to  the  whole  undertaking.  He  told  me  him- 
self that  he  gladly  would  give  ten  3^ears  of 
his  life  to  go  through  with  it  again. 

"  At  that  time  there  was  a  line  of  steamers 
running  between  this  port  and  the  '  Prov- 
inces,' and  the  vessels  composing  it  were  all 
first-class,  seaworthy  craft ;  for,  as  probably 
you  know,  there's  pretty  nasty  weather  to  be 
met,  off  there  to  the  east'ard.  Now,  of  the 
whole  lot  the  Halifax  was  the  best,  and  our 
government  had  had  an  eye  on  her  for  some 
time,  for   she  had   in   her  the    making  of  a 


24  THE    PLI'CK    OF 

good  gun-boat,  and  would  have  come  up  very 
handily  to  l)lockadnig  reciuirements.  But  Pen- 
der's eye  was  just  as  keen  as  Uncle  Sjim's, 
and  Pender's  motions  were  a  great  deal  more 
sudden,  and  so  the  H<iJif'(i.r  never  attained 
tlie  dignity  of  a  place  in  our  navy ;  for,  when 
she  left  her  dock  to  begin  her  List  voyage 
'  Down  East,'  she  bore  upon  her  passenger- 
list  seven  ornamentally  fictitious  names, 
Tuuler  cover  of  which  travelled  Captain  John 
Ilarndeu  Pender,  C.S.N.,  and  the  six  clioice 
spirits  whom  he  had  chosen  to  l)ack  him  up." 

"  So  he  stole  her,  did  he  ?  "  exclaimed 
Kenryck,  at  last  beginning  to  take  a  little 
interest  in  the  story. 

"  Stole  her !  no,  indeed,"  said  Colonel 
Elliott,  in  a  tone  of  rebuke.  ''That's  hardly 
a  gentlemanly  way  to  put  it.  In  war  you 
don't  steal  things  :  you  eapfure  them.  Iden- 
tit}^  in  ideas,  you  know,  but  dissimilarity  in 
terms.  Pender  would  be  hurt  if  he  should 
happen  to  hear  his  exploit  classed  as  larceny. 
Well,  the  Halifax  went  churning  along  on  her 
course,  and  until  she  was  well  outside  the 
bay  there  was  nothing  unusual  in  the  conduct 
of  her  passengers.  But  when  she  had  a 
good    offing,    there    came     a    transformation 


CAPTAIN     PENIJEB,     C.S.N.  25 

scene  ;  and,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  men  in  the 
pilot-honse  and  engine-room  found  themselves 
looking  into  the  barrels  of  a  very  respectable 
number  of  navy  revolvers. 

"  There  wasn't  much  chance  for  argument. 
One  of  the  engineers  tried  it  on,  but  he  only 
got  shot  for  his  pains  —  and  the  results  in 
his  case  seemed  to  discourage  the  others.  In 
short,  the  job  was  done  neatly  and  in  a 
thoroughly  workmanlike  way,  and  it  took,  all 
told,  not  much  over  half  an  hour  to  change 
the  course  of  the  Halifax  from  a  northerly 
to  a  southerly  one.  Sounds  easy,  doesn't  it? 
Well,  it  wrt.s-." 

"  So  they  got  clean  away  with  her  ?  "  said 
the  colonel's  listener.  "  It  hardly  seems 
possible ! " 

"  Yes,  at  first  they  played  in  luck,  and  got 
away  with  her  right  enough,"  said  Colonel 
Elliott ;  "  but  their  luck  failed  to  hold,  and 
off  the  coast  of  the  Carolinas  they  had  to  go 
blundering  plump  into  the  blockading  squad- 
ron. Sandy  as  Pender  was,  he  couldn't 
fight  his  ship  with  Colt's  revolvers,  so,  when 
he  found  himself  in  a  fair  way  to  be  pocketed 
by  two  or  three  of  our  cruisers,  he  made 
the  best  of  a  bad  mess,  headed  the  poor  old 


26  TllK    I' LUCK    OF 

Halifax  for  the  shore,  sent  her,  head  on  and 
at  full  speed,  u})Ou  tlie  sands,  and  left  her 
there  ahlaze  from  stem  to  stern.  I  don't  kn.ow 
wliat  he  said  durhig  the  operation,  but  I'd  bet 
something  tliat  if  his  words  were  put  into 
print  the\'M  have  to  he  hound  in  asfx'stos  or 
some  other  non-inilammable  material.  Well, 
it  7('as  hard  luck,  and  —  Union  veteran  though 
I  am  —  I'm  damned  if  I  can  help  feeling  sorry 
that  Pender  didn't  get  away  with  his  ship! 
I"d  liave  liked  to  see  what  he'd  have  done 
with   her."" 

The  colonel  reached  fur  the  tobacco-jar, 
filled  a  corn-col),  lighted  it,  and  then  went 
on  :  "  After  this  unsuccessful  experiment  of 
his,  he  failed  to  get  many  more  chances,  for 
in  some  scrimmage  or  other  he  managed  to 
get  badly  used  up,  and  didn't  get  fairly  into 
shape  until  the  war  was  nearly  over.  When 
finally  the  Confederacy  went  down  he  was 
one  of  those  wdio  couldn't  })hilosophically 
accept  the  result  of  the  struggle,  and  in  an 
aimless  sort  of  way  he  drifted  over  to  Eng- 
land. There  he  brought  u[)  at  Liverpool,  and 
in  the  course  of  events  happened  again  upon 
old  David  McClintock.  Well,  after  this  he 
had  evervthiuQ-  his  own  way,  for  the  old  man 


CAPTAIX    PENDER,     C.S.N.  27 

completely  surrendered  to  him.  First,  he 
went  to  stay  at  Mac's  house  ;  next,  he  went 
into  business  with  him  ;  and  finally  he  made 
love  to  Bess  and  married  her.  He  couldn't 
have  wasted  much  time  over  it  all,  either,  for 
it  all  had  taken  place  when  lie  showed  up, 
here  in  Boston,  in  71.  But  that  was  Pen- 
der all  over.  '  Eh,  but  he  was  a  spirited  lad, 
ye  know.'  " 

Kenryck  laughed  at  this  application  of  old 
McClintock's  words,  and  the  colonel,  who 
had  stopped  to  pack  more  closely  the  tobacco 
in  his  pipe,  continued :  ''  He  had  come  to 
Boston  on  a  matter  of  business,  and  was 
about  to  look  me  up  when  he  found  himself 
put  behind  the  bars,  almost  as  soon  as  he  had 
stepped  off  the  New  York  train.  How  did 
that  come  about  ?  Very  simply.  It  seems 
that  he  had  met,  at  some  hotel  in  Liverpool, 
a  Boston  man  who  still  was  rabid  on  the  war 
question.  The  fellow  wasn't  a  veteran,  but 
was  one  of  those  who  staid  at  home  and 
shouted  for  the  Union  —  and  they  are  the  ones 
who  keep  the  hatchet  longest  unburied. 
Somehow  he  managed  to  get  into  a  discus- 
sion with  Pender,  and  displayed  such  a  lam- 
entable  lack  of    tact   that,   before    he    half 


28  THE    PLUCK    OF 

knew  it,  the  little  ex-rebel  had  kudc-ked  him 
flat,  and  had  repeated  the  operation  twice 
running.  It  was  a  sort  of  argument  to  which 
he  was  unaccustomed,  and  he  seemed  offended 
at  it." 

"  A  bit  put  out,  eh  ?  "  said  Kenryck,  with 
a  grin  at  the  matter-of-fact  way  in  whicli 
Colonel    Elliott   made  this  latter  statement. 

"More  knocked  out."  replied  tlie  colonel, 
with  an  answeringf  smile.  '*  I'm  imt  wasting: 
much  sympathy  over  him,  for  lie  wasn't 
exactly  the  style  of  man  I  like.  Wliy,  Ken- 
ryck, instead  of  getting  up  and  going  for 
Pender,  he  slunk  off  quietly  and,  all  by  him- 
self, hatclied  up  a  dirty  little  scheme  for 
S(|uaring  the  account  without  running  further 
risk  of  getting  a  black  eye. 

"  In  some  way  he"d  got  hold  of  Pender's 
war  record,  and,  learning  that  he  shortly  was 
to  come  across  to  this  side,  he  made  off,  post- 
haste, for  Boston,  where  he  set  to  work  very 
industriously  to  arrange  a  proper  reception 
for  the  man  who  had  presumed  to  punch  his 
patriotic  nose.  I  must  admit  that  he  did  his 
work  very  nicely,  and  the  first  results  proba- 
bly were  quite  gratifying  to  him,  for  about  as 
soon  as  Pender  set  foot  in  this  town  he  was 


CAPTAIN    PENDER,     C.8.N.  29 

arrested  under  a  warrant  charging  piracy, 
and  murder  on  the  high  seas,  and  pretty 
much  every  cheerful  sort  of  crime  and  mis- 
demeanor, all  on  account  of  his  little  esca- 
pade on  the  Halifax,  eight  years  before.  It 
was  at  this  stage  of  the  game  that  I  was 
called  upon  to  take  a  hand." 

"  Why,  I'm  blessed  if  I  can  see  — "  began 
Kenryck. 

"  How  the  charges  could  be  supported, 
eh  ? "  said  the  colonel,  finishing  his  ques- 
tion for  him.  "  Well,  they  couldn't  be, 
and  weren't.  The  case  never  came  to  trial, 
for  we  were  able  to  show  the  facts  of  the 
matter  in  the  proper  light,  and  with  less 
trouble  than  I  had  dared  hope.  But  I  had 
to  trot  up  bail  to  the  amount  of  fifteen 
thousand  before  I  could  put  Pender  into 
more  congenial  quarters,  and,  first  and  last, 
I  wasted  the  better  part  of  a  week  in  getting 
the  complications  disentangled." 

"  And  then  what  happened  ?  "  asked  Ken- 
ryck, with  a  grin  of  anticipation.  "  I  sup- 
pose Pender  took  the  first  chance  to  knock 
the  head  off  his  man  ?  " 

"  Wouldn't  he  have  !  "  said  Colonel  Elliott, 
with  something   like   a  sigh  of  relief  at  the 


30  THE    PLUCK    OF 

tliouglit  that  lii.s  peppery  little  southerner 
was  safe  in  Liverpool  again,  and  unlikely 
ever  to  cause  him  further  trouble.  ''  Why, 
Kenryck,  I  honestly  thought  he'd  be  back  again 
in  jail  inside  of  a  week,  and  for  real  murder, 
too.  But,  luckily,  our  friend  the  informer 
found  it  convenient  to  leave  town  as  soon 
as  he  saw  the  turn  affairs  were  takincr,  and 
so  the  gutters  didn't  run  with  blood,  after 
all. 

"Well,  things  calmed  down,  and  in  time 
Pender  cooled  off  sufficiently  to  attend  to 
his  business.  But  he  worried  the  life  half 
out  of  me  b}'  thanking  me  over  and  over 
again,  at  all  sorts  of  times  and  in  all  sorts  of 
places,  for  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  my 
' soldierl}'-  magnanimit}'.'  At  last,  and  just 
as  he  was  l^egiiiiTing  to  become  rather  a  bore, 
he  took  himself  off  on  a  hunting  trip, 
somewhere  up  Canada  way,  and  that  was  the 
last  I  saw  of  him,  for  he  went  back  to  Eng- 
land b}'  way  (jf  Montreal.  But  after  he'd 
been  gone  about  three  weeks  I  had  a  re- 
minder of  him.  in  the  shape  of  that  pair  of 
horns,  which,  with  his  card  attached,  came 
to  me  by  express.  I  had  them  mounted  on 
the    shield,  and  put    that  plate  upon    them, 


CAPTAIX    PENDER,     C.S.N.  31 

partly  because  tliey  recall  rather  an  odd  ex- 
perience, and  partly  to  keep  myself  in  mind 
that  the  war  is  over." 

"•Now,  that's  quite  a  story,"  said  Kenryck, 
as  the  colonel  paused.  "  I  should  think, 
thong]  1,  that  you  would  keep  the  horns  at 
home.  They  are  a  splendid  pair,  and  the 
story  makes  them  doul>ly  valuable." 

"I  had  them  in  my  hall  for  years,"  said 
the  colonel,  "but  when  we  set  out  to  fit  up 
The  Batter}^  here,  I  chipped  them  in  as  part 
of  my  contribution,  for  that  space  of  wall,  in 
there  between  the  colors,  seemed  made  on 
purpose  for  them.  But  those  antlers  are 
not  my  only  reminder  of  Pender's  gratitude," 
he  continued,  taking  out  his  pocket-book 
and  extracting  from  it  a  photograph  of  a 
bald-headed,  pudgy-faced  infant,  "  for  here's 
a  picture  of  a  young  Liverpool  citizen  who 
rejoices  in  the  name  of  Henry  Elliott  Pender. 
He's  Pender's  third,  and  he's  bound  to  grow 
up  into  a  terrible  little  rebel,  for  his  father 
is  still  unreconstructed.  Doesn't  look  very 
formidable,  does  he  ?  I'm  ready,  though,  to 
bet  my  commission  against  a  corporal's  war- 
rant that,  one  of  these  days,  I'll  have  a  name- 
sake in  either  Her  Majesty's  army  or  navy, 


82  THE    PLUCK    OF 

for  the  little  rascal  comes  of  fighting  stock, 
and  blood  will  tell." 

"Apparently  the  (h)ctor  didn't  have  a 
grudge  to  settle."  said  Kenrvck.  handing 
back  the  photograph.  Then,  after  disposing 
of  what  little  beer  was  left  in  his  pewter,  he 
got  n})on  liis  feet,  saying,  "  Well,  C(donel,  I 
liope  I'll  have  the  luck  to  get  np  here  often, 
for  I  want  to  hear  the  stories  that  go  with  the 
I'est  of  these  odds  and  ends.'" 

"  Hello  I"  said  Colonel  Elliott,  glancing  at 
the  clock.  '•  Is  it  so  late  as  that !  Trnst  I've 
not  bored  yon  :  yoifre  too  good  a  listener  to 
frighten  away." 

Kenryck  went  to  rescue  his  overcoat  from 
the  fast  diminishing  ])\\q  ttpon  the  chair, 
while  the  colonel,  pipe  in  hand,  took  up  a 
position  near  the  dotn*,  to  bid  good-niglit  to 
our  departing  guests.  By  twos  and  threes 
our  visitors  left  us,  and  then  the  colonel,  as 
the  last  descending  footfall  echoed  faintly  up 
the  long  staircase,  turned  and  glanced  at  the 
disorderly  array  of  empty  mugs.  "  T  venture 
to  assert,"  he  said,  with  a  laugh,  "  that  there 
are  worse  places  for  story-telling  than  The 
Battery.  Judging  by  ap})earances,  I  think  it 
doubtful  if  there's  been  a  dri/  yarn  told  to- 
night, up  here." 


C.1P7'^1/.V    PENDER,    C.S.N.  33 

"Twenty-two,  tv/enty-four,  twenty-six," 
counted  Sam,  as  he  made  the  rounds  of  tlie 
deserted  tables,  "  Twenty-six  mugs  t'  clean 
an'  sliine  up  !  Wal,  'twan't  sich  a  bad  evenin' 
a'ter  all."  And  we  left  him  gathering  up  the 
tarnished  pewters,  and  swearing  strange,  New 
England  oaths  —  "  B'gosh  I  "  and  "  I  swan  !  " 
and  "  Gol  darn  !  "^-at  the  prospect  of  the 
morrow's  polishing. 


ONE  RECORD 


REGIMENTAL  ROLLS 


ONE     RECORD 


REGIMENTAL     ROLLS. 


••  'T'T'ERY  pretty,"  said  the  colonel,  "very 
V  pretty,  indeed.  Quite  up  to  our 
standard,  eh.  Jack  ?  Guard  looks 
small,  though,  —  doesn't  it  ?  —  to  one  who's 
used  to  seeing  twenty-four  files  paraded." 
The  colonel  and  I  had  got  leave  for  a  couple 
of  weeks  to  run  down  to  Old  Point  to  see 
the  heavy  gun  practice,  and  now  we  stood 
watching  the  new  guard  as  it  marched  away 
to  relieve  the  old  details. 

Yes,  it  was  pretty,  all  of  it,  —  very  pretty 
indeed,  —  and  I  felt  repaid  for  the  early 
breakfast  we  had  taken  in  order  to  get  over 
to  the  fort  in  time  for  the  ceremony.  The 
surroundings  made  a  fitting  frame  for  the 
picture  :  before  us  lay  the  broad,  green  floor 
of  the  level  parade,  its  carpet  of  short-cropped 


38  ONE    RECORD    ON     THE 

turf  still  glistening  with  the  morning  dew  : 
the  angular  lines  of  the  great,  ungainly  bar- 
racks somehow  looked  less  harsh  in  the  warm 
sunshine  ;  and  the  otficers'  quarters,  half  hid- 
den beneath  the  scrubby  oaks  and  overhang- 
ing willow  s,  looked  cosey  and  comfortable  — 
and  ahnost  too  homelike  for  such  a  phace. 

While  the  gray,  sod-capped  walls  of  the 
old  fort  still  were  ringing  with  the  quickstep 
played  by  the  four  smart  trumpeters  who  led 
the  guard  in  its  march,  we  turned  and  left 
the  parade,  loitering  for  a  moment  at  the 
l^lace  where  the  old  guns  —  relics  of  York- 
town,  Saratoga,  and  many  another  by-gone 
siege  and  battle  —  lie  sullen  and  dumb,  while 
the  green  mould  of  long  years  gathers  ever 
more  thickly  upon  cascabel,  chase,  and  trunn- 
ion. "•  Rack  nundjers,*'  said  the  colonel, 
half  to  himself,  as  he  stooped  to  read  the  in- 
scription deeply  graven  in  the  metal  of  an 
old  field-piece,  "back  numbers,  all  of  them. 
'  Captured  at  Yoiktown  ' —  ami  that  was  more 
than  a  humlred  years  ago  !  Well,  those  who 
won  and  those  who  lost  are  uiuler  ground 
now,  and  the  old  gun's  dead,  too.  It  has 
said  its  last  word." 

We  sauntered  away,  through  the  echoing 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  39 

archway,  and  across  the  drawbridge  which 
spans  the  green  and  quiet  water  of  the  wide 
ditch ;  and  as  we  slowly  walked  past  the 
water  battery,  with  its  long  row  of  grim, 
black  Rodmans  frowning  out  upon  the  bay 
—  each  in  its  vaulted  casemate  —  like  so 
many  kennelled  watch-dogs,  the  colonel  broke 
the  silence  with,  ''Do  you  know.  Jack,  I 
don't  care  particularly  about  watching  the 
firing  to-day  ?  The  pounding  we  got  yester- 
day was  infernal.  I  hope  this  country  can 
steer  clear  of  war  until  weVe  perfected  the 
pneumatic  gun." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  I.  "  Wouldn't 
that  seem  too  much  like  fighting  with  bean- 
blowers  ?  " 

"  It  wouldn't  much  resemble  the  fighting 
in  the  old  days  —  and  that's  a  fact,"  replied 
the  colonel,  kicking  into  the  ditch  a  pebble 
from  the  gravelled  roadway,  and  smiling  at 
the  sudden  scattering  of  a  school  of  little  fish, 
caused  by  the  unexpected  splash.  "  I'm  not 
so  sure,  after  all,  that  I'm  in  a  hurry  for  the 
time  to  arrive  when  some  fellow,  ten  miles  or 
so  away,  can  free  a  lot  of  compressed  air,  and 
by  means  of  it  drop  half  a  barrel  of  dynamite 
in  my  vicinity  —  without  even  so  much  as  a 


•10  ONE    UECOUD    ON    THE 

i:»uff  of  smoke  to  show  which  way  I  ouolu  to 
turn  to  bow  my  acknowledgments.  I've  an 
idea,  old  man,  that  a  little  occurrence  of  that 
sort  would  scatter  even  the  gallant  Third 
about  as  completely  and  expeditiously  as  my 
pebble  disorganized  those  minnows." 

A  few  steps  more  brought  us  l)eyond  the 
last  of  the  curving  line  of  casemates,  and  as 
we  turned  towards  the  hotel  the  colonel  said, 
"  I  feel  that  I'm  growing  old,  for  now-a-days 
even  a  little  heavy  gun  tiring  makes  my  ears 
ache,  and  anything  over  a  little  Ijores  me. 
Thirty  years  ago  I  didn't  mind  it  so  much  as 
I  do  now.  ThirtiJ  years  aj/o?  Why,  Jack, 
I  can't  realize  it !  But  it  must  be  that :  yes, 
'61  from  '91 ;  that  makes  it  —  and  it  makes 
me  an  old  man,  too." 

''  Nonsense  I  "  said  I,  laughing,  for  in  all 
the  Third  there  is  no  younger-hearted  man 
than  the  colonel  who  commands  it.  "  It 
makes  you  nothing  of  the  sort.  In  "61  you 
were  nineteen;  add  thirty  to  that  —  and  it 
leaves  you  still  on  the  sunny  side  of  fifty. 
See  here.  Colonel :  on  our  rolls  we  have 
seven  hundred  men,  and  some  few  over  — 
how  many  are  there  among  them  who  could 
down  you  to-day  ?  " 


REGIMENTAL    BOLLS.  41 

"  Not  many,  if  I  do  say  it,"  replied  the 
colonel,  with  his  usual  modesty,  drawing 
himself  up  and  stretching  out  one  long  arm, 
to  gaze  contemplatively  at  the  sinewy  wrist 
and  compact  bunch  of  knuckles  with  which 
it  terminated.  "  But  all  that  only  goes  to 
show  how  well  preserved  I  am,  for  I  am  an 
old  man,  in  spite  of  what  you  say.  Con- 
found 3^ou,  Jack !  Can't  you  let  a  veteran 
have  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  venerable  and 
antique  ?  " 

"All  right,"  I  replied,  laughing  again. 
"  You're  my  commanding  ofilicer,  and  if  you 
order  me  to  consider  you  a  relic,  why,  I 
must,  I  suppose.  Perhaps  it  may  comfort 
3^ou  to  know  that  the  boys  conversationally 
refer  to  you  as  '  the  old  man.'  " 

"  There,  enough  of  that,"  said  the  colonel, 
as  we  stepped  upon  the  planking  of  the  long 
piazza.  "  What's  the  use  of  discussing  my 
infirmities  ?  Now,  how  shall  we  kill  time  this 
forenoon  ?  Billiards  ?  No,  hardly  ;  it's  too 
good  a  day  to  waste  indoors.  I'll  tell  you 
what  we'll  do,  my  boy  :  we'll  go  over  to 
Hampton  and  take  a  look  at  the  old  fellows 
in  the  '  Home.'  Which  shall  it  be,  drive  or 
walk  ?  " 


42  oxE  liEConi)   ox   the 

"  Walk,"  said  I  promptly,  as  I  felt  the 
fresh,  salt  breeze  eonie  stealing  in  from  off 
the  water ;  ''yes,  we'll  walk,  unless  at  your 
advanced  age  you  doiTt  feel  (|uite  u[t  to  tlie 
exertion." 

'•  Walk  it  is.  then,"  said  the  colonel,  ignoring 
my  attempt  to  pay  proper  deference  to  his 
accumulated  years.  "  Just  wait  a  second, 
tliough ;  I  must  till  my  pockets  before  we 
start.  I  like  to  lay  a  trail  of  cigars  when 
I  go  among  the  old  boys,"  and  with  this  he 
disappeared  into  the  hotel,  from  which  he 
emerged  a  moment  later,  bearing  a  })aper  of 
weeds  which,  he  explained,  were  not  rankly 
poisonous  for  open-air  smoking,  though  they 
might  involve  some  unpleasant  consec^uences 
if  lighted  within-doors. 

We  set  off  at  a  swinging  gait  along  the 
road,  and  in  something  less  than  half  an 
hour  found  ourselves  at  the  entrance  of  the 
well-kept  grounds  in  which  are  clustered 
the  buildings  of  the  Soldiers'  Home.  It  is 
a  beautiful  place,  that  quiet  spot  by  the 
southern  sea,  and  I  never  could  tire  of  stroll- 
ing along  its  flower-bordered  walks,  and 
among  its  sunny  nooks  and  corners.  And 
yet,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  brightest  sun- 


REGIMENTAL     ROLLS.  45 

sliine,  one  cannot  escape  the  thought  that 
the  hundi'eds  upon  hundreds  of  gray-haired, 
feeble  men  who  throng  the.se  PTOunds  have 
come  here,  after  all,  only  to  die.,  and  are 
waiting  —  waiting  until  it  shall  be  their  turn 
to  be  carried  out  to  the  great  graveyard 
wliich,  with  its  acres  and  acres  of  white  head- 
stones, lies  but  a  few  short  steps  outside  the 
gates.  It  is  a  thought  that  somehow  seems 
to  dim  the  sunshine  a  little,  and  though  the 
place  is  AvonderfuUy  picturesque,  and  wears 
an  outward  air  of  ease  and  comfort,  yet  I,  for 
one,  never  can  be  there  without  feeling 
almost  awe-stricken  at  the  remembrance  of 
what  it  all  means. 

"  Now,  Jack,"  said  the  colonel,  as  we 
walked  leisurely  along  the  broad,  hard  road- 
way, which  runs  parallel  with  the  blue 
waters  of  Hampton  Roads,  '"  keep  an  eye 
out  for  '  blue  Maltees,'  for  that's  the  par- 
ticular breed  of  cats  we're  after." 

"  All  right,"  I  replied,  interpreting  this 
command  to  mean  that  I  was  to  be  on  the 
watch  for  veterans  wearing  the  badge  of  the 
old  19th  Army  Corps  —  the  blue  Maltese 
cross;  a  device  which  we  of  the  Third  still 
retain,    in    memory    of    the    days    when   the 


44  ONE    BECOTtB    OX    THE 

"  Old  Regiinenc "' won  its  renown.  "White 
diamonds,  red  crescents,  and  stars  of  every 
color  seem  to  l)e  plenty,  Colonel,  but,  so  far  as 
I  can  see,  '  ]\Ialtees  '  are  at  a  premium.'' 

"  Oh,  we  sliall  find  one,"'  said  the  colonel, 
"  we  surely  shall  find  one.  There  are  rows 
upon  rows  of  them  lying  quietly  oyer  yon- 
der," with  a  nod  towards  the  flag  floating 
above  the  cemetery,  "  but  they  are  not  yet 
all  mustered  out.  There's  one  now,  over  on 
that  bench.     See  Iiim  ?  " 

Yes,  I  saw  him :  a  short,  wir}'  man  ;  a 
man  with  whitened  hair,  keen  gray  eyes,  a 
sharply-pointed  nose,  and  a  clean-shaven  face 
whose  every  line  and  wrinkle  betokened 
shrewdness  and  native  w^it.  At  the  first 
brief  glance  I  knew  him  for  a  Yankee,  a 
thoroughbred  old  New  Englander. 

He  was  sittting  alone  upon  the  bench, 
with  one  knee  drawn  up  and  held  by  his 
clasped  hands.  Upon  his  cap  he  wore  the 
blue  Maltese  cross  we  had  been  seeking,  and 
on  the  breast  of  his  faded  and  loosely  fitting 
army  blouse  hung  a  simple  medal  of  bronze. 
Into  one  corner  of  his  mouth  was  stuck  a 
quaintly  carved,  briar-wood  pipe,  and  as  he 
tranquilly  sat  there,   blowing  from  his  thin 


REGIMENTAL    BOLLS.  45 

lips  an  occasional  puft'  of  smoke,  he  seemed 
contented  with  himself  and  the  world  in 
general  —  and  I  somehow  thought  that  in 
his  expression  I  saw  something  different 
from  the  air  of  hopelessness  which  had  been 
so  sadly  common  to  the  many  old  soldiers  we 
had  passed  before  we  happened  upon  him. 

"  Hello,  comrade,"  said  the  colonel,  walk- 
ing towards  the  bench  on  which  the  old 
fellow  sat,  and  throwing  open  his  coat  to 
bring  into  view  the  enamelled  corps  badge 
pinned  upon  his  waistcoat,  "how  goes  it 
with  you  ?  " 

"  Fust-rate,"  replied  the  veteran,  without 
bothering  to  remove  his  pipe  from  its  resting 
place.  "  How  be  ye  ?  "  he  went  on,  speak- 
ing with  a  sharp,  nasal  twang  which  at  once 
opened  my  heart  to  him  —  for  he  tvas  a 
Yankee,  and  I  love  the  honest,  hardy  old 
stock  that  comes  from  among  the  New  Eng- 
land hills  and  valleys.  "  I  see  i/ou  was  in 
th'  ol'  19th,  too,"  said  he,  moving  over  to 
the  end  of  the  seat.  "  Set  ye  down  an'  be 
comf  table." 

"Yes,  I  went  out  with  the  — th  Mas- 
sachusetts and  saw  the  thing  through," 
said   the    colonel,   seating   himself   next   his 


46  ONE    llECORD    OX     THE 

new-foiiiul  friend  and  leaving  vacant  for  me 
one  end  of  the  l)ench.  '•'  What  was  your 
regiment  ?"' 

'•  Burdett's  Batt'ry.  New  Hampshire,"  re- 
plied the  old  fellow,  with  a  critical  side- 
gianee  at  the  colonel;  "an"  if  ye  was  in 
th"  ^Massachusetts  — th  ye  won't  have  no 
trouble  in  reniemberin'  how  our  guns  use'- 
ter  sound,  neither." 

''  Lord  !  1  should  ><a//  not."  said  the  colonel, 
turning  to  me  with,  ''  Tliis  comes  to  pretty 
much  the  same  tiling  as  meeting  an  old  ac- 
quaintance. Jack,  iov  Burdett's  Battery  was 
one  of  the  best  in  our  division,  and  the  '  Old 
Regiment '  has  supported  it  more  times  than 
one.  Yes,  indeed,"  he  went  on,  as  he  reached 
into  his  pocket  for  his  cigars,  "  I  "ve  listened 
to  your  music  many  a  day.  Good  music, 
too,  it  was.  The  infantry  does  the  work  — 
but  sometimes  guns  are  mighty  comforting 
companions." 

"  You  het  they  be,"  said  the  old  artillery- 
man, shaking  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  and 
taking  a  cigar  from  the  paper  which  the 
colonel  held  towards  him.  "  Thank  ye.  A 
pipe's  my  reg'lar  smoke,  but  once  'n  a  while  I 
kind  o'  like  t'  change  off  onto  a  cigar.     Yis, 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  47 

I  was  in  Burdett"«  Light  Batt'ry,  an'  was 
mustered  out  a  sargint." 

"  AY  hat  brought  you  down  here?"  asked 
the  colonel,  handing  a  match  to  the  old 
soldier.     "Down  on  your  luck  a  bit,  eh?" 

"  No-o,  not  exackly,"  returned  the  veteran, 
as  he  smartly  drew  the  match  across  his 
thigh  after  the  manner  of  one  who  had  ac- 
quired the  habit  in  active  service.  Glancing 
quickly  around,  and  seeing  that  we  were 
alone  —  for  the  nearest  group  was  gathered 
beside  an  old  siege  gun,  some  fifty  yards 
away  —  he  lowered  his  voice  a  trifle  and  said, 
"  Fact  is,  I  ain't  obliged  f  board  down  here, 
an',  strickly  speakin',  I  s'pose  I  hadn't  oughter 
be  here  at  all.  Ye  see,  when  I'm  home 
I  live  up  Swanzey  way — that's  up  in  New 
Hampshire,  an'  not  sech  an  orful  way  from 
th'  Massachusetts  line.  I'm  able  t'  git  alonq; 
tol'ably  comf'table  up  there,  with  one  odd 
job  an'  another,  but  this  fall  I  kind  o'  took  it 
inter  my  head  that  I'd  like  t'  spend  th'  win- 
ter south,  an'  I  managed  it,  too.  So  liere  I 
be.  Nex'  spring,  though,  when  things  gits 
all  thawed  out  up  north,  I  guess  I'll  move 
along  up  agin  t'  see  th'  folks,  for  this  is  a 
terrible  shif'less  sort  o'  country,  down  here, 


48  ONE    RECOEI)    OX     THE 

an'  I  woulchTt  want  t'  stay  here  for  a  .stiddy 
thing.*" 

"  I  see  liDW  it  is,"  Liughed  tlie  colonel,  un- 
derstanding that  this  confession  was  made 
because  the  old  sergeant  hated  to  liave  it 
thought  that  he  had  been  driven  bv  want  to 
accept  the  government's  hospitality.  '"You're 
playing  it  foxy  on  Uncle  Sam  for  a  little 
vacation."" 

"  I  s'pose  'taint  (^uite  right,  lookin'  at  it 
in  some  ways,"  said  the  old  gunner  apolo- 
getically. "  l^ut  I  spent  four  years  south 
ivorJcin'  for  our  Uncle  Sanuiel,  an'  it  doos 
seem  's  if  I  might  rest  here  one  winter  at  his 
expense,  'specially  sence  I'm  a  sort  o"  name- 
sake o'  his.  Besides,  'taint  like  it  might  be 
'f  I  was  drawin'  a  penshin,  neither,  for  I 
never  tried  t'  git  one,  though  there's  plenty 
o'  men  takin"  dollars  out  o'  th"  treas'ry  that 
aint  got  no  better  claim  than  I  have." 

*'  Yoti're  decorated,  I  see,"  said  I,  nodding 
towards  the  medal  upon  his  breast.  ''  Isn't 
that  the  '  Medal  of  Honor '  that  is  awarded 
only  by  vote  of  Congress  ?  " 

"  Yis,  that's  jest  what  it  is,"'  replie<l  the 
sergeant,  unpinning  it  and  handing  it  over 
for   my    inspection.       "  Guess     taint    worth 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  49 

much ;  it's  notliin'  but  copper.  Seems  's  if 
the  gov'ment  don't  calc'late  t'  spend  much 
on  them  sort  o'  fixin's.  I  got  it  "bout  three 
years  ago." 

"  '  To  Sergeant  Samuel  Farwell, '  "  I  read 
aloud,  " '  October  29th,  1864.'  Do  you  mean 
to  say,  sergeant,  that  you  waited  twenty- 
four  years  to  obtain  recognition  of  your 
bravery  ? " 

"  Wal,  there  warn't  no  one  t'  blame  'cept 
me,"  remarked  my  New  Englander,  taking 
the  medal  from  the  colonel,  to  whom  I  had 
passed  it,  and  fastening  it  again  in  its  place 
upon  the  breast  of  his  blouse.  "  Ye  have  t' 
apply  for  them  things  yourself,  an'  git  all 
sorts  o'  document'ry  evidence  t'  back  ye  up. 
It  makes  consid'able  bother,  fust  an'  last, 
an'  I'll  be  darned  'f  I'd  go  through  all  th' 
fuss  agin  for  a  peck  on  '  em." 

"  Tell  us  about  it,"  said  the  colonel,  who 
seemed  amused  at  the  light  in  which  Farwell 
regarded  his  decoration.  "  What  did  you 
get  it  for  ?  " 

"  What  did  I  git  it  for  ?  "  repeated  the  old 
gunner,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  gray  eye  and  a 
twitching  of  the  muscles  at  the  corner  of 
his  mouth  which  warned  us    that   he  medi- 


50  ONE    EEC  OB  I)    OX    'THE 

tated  some  outbreak  of  Yankee  wit.  "  AVIiat 
for?  Oh,  'cause — what  with  Odd  Fellers, 
an'  hose  companies,  an"  Sons  o'  Vet'rans  — 
there  wasn't  many  jjcople  in  town  tluit  didn't 
have  a  medal  o'  some  description,  an'  I  got 
tliis  one  so  *s  t'  be  able  t'  shine  with  tli"  rest 
on  'em.'' 

"  Pshaw  !  I  don't  mean  tJnif,"  said  the 
colonel,  with  a  laugh  in  which  I  joined, 
"  What  did  you  do  to  get  it  ?" 

"Why,  I  thought  I'd  told  ye,"  said  the  old 
fellow,  with  the  twiid-cle  still  visible  in  his 
eye.  "  I  applied  for  it,  an*  })Ut  in  my  docu- 
ments t' prove  I  w^arn't  lyin'  —  an' ol'  Cap'n 
Burdett  helped  me  consid'able  by  speakin'  t' 
our  member  o'  Congress  'bout  it." 

"No,  no,  no/'''  said  the  colonel,  laughing 
again,  "  that's  not  what  I  want,  either.  That 
medal  of  yours  is  awarded  only  for  distin- 
guished bravery ;  now,  what  was  the  service 
that  made  you  eligible  to  receive  it?" 

"What  did  th'  gov'nment  give  it  t'  me 
for?  ye  mean,"  said  the  sergeant,  allowing 
himself  a  smile  at  the  fun  he  liad  had  with 
us.  "  Wal,  'taint  goin'  t'  sound  like  much, 
but  I'd  jus'  's  lives  tell  ye.  Hello  !"  he  inter- 
jected, "  this  cigar  seems  t'  be   unravellin'." 


BEGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  61 

"■Throw  it  away,  then,"'  said  the  colonel. 
"  Here's  another." 

"  Oh,  no  !  wouldn't  do  that,  wonld  ye  ?  " 
said  the  old  soldier.  ''  "Twould  seem  kind  o' 
wasteful,  wouldn't  it  ?  I  kin  tinker  this  one 
so'  s  it'll  be  all  right.  Jes'  watch  me "  — 
and  with  this  he  applied  his  tongue  to  the 
loosened  and  uncoiling  wrapper,  and  then 
smoothed  the  well-moistened  leaf  securely 
into  place,  remarking,  "  There  !  she  smokes 
as  good  's  new  —  an'  there's  five  cents  saved." 

"  Just  about,"  said  I,  grinning,  for  an  occa- 
sional whiff  of  the  smoke  had  come  my  way. 
"  How  did  you  know  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  kin  tell  a  good  cigar,  every  time," 
remarked  the  veteran,  liberating  a  prodigious 
puff  of  smoke  and  sniffing  at  it  with  the  air 
of  an  expert  judge  of  tobacco.  "  Smokin' 
a  pipe  so  much  haint  hurt  my  taste  for  cigars 
a  mite." 

"  Glad  you  like  them,"  said  the  colonel, 
turning  upon  me  an  ominous  frown  which 
checked  any  inclination  I  might  have  had  to 
go  more  deeply  into  the  subject.  "  Now, 
about  that  medal  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yis,  'bout  th'  medal,"  said  Farwell, 
with  just  one  look  at  his  cigar  to  see  how  his 


52  ONE   UEcnni)  o.y   the 

repairs  held  out.  ''  Wal,  ye  uius'u't  think 
I'm  boastiiT  —  "cause  I  aint.  What  I  done 
warn't  no  nioie  than  Fve  seen  done  time  an' 
time  agin — aiT  yon,  too,  "f  you  was  four 
years  with  th"  — tli  Massaehusetts  —  an'  I 
never'd  have  thought  twice  'bout  it  'f  Cap'n 
Burdett  hadn't  kep'  urgin'  me  on  t'  apply  for 
th'  medah  Pooh  !  'taint  nothin"  l)ut  a  trinket, 
anyway,  an'  it's  no  eaitldy  use  t'  mc  nor  any- 
one." 

"Don't  a[)ologize.  (to  ahead  with  the 
story,"  I  put  in,  recognizing  the  chance  of  an 
interesting  half  hour.  ^  You  didn't  volun- 
teer to  tell  us,  you  know.     We  asked  you."' 

"Yes,  go  ahead,"  said  the  colonel,  light- 
ing a  cigar,  which,  hj  the  way,  he  took  from 
his  leather  case,  and  not  from  the  paper  of 
weeds  he  had  brought  from  the  hotel.  "  I 
should  sa}-  that  things  had  come  to  a  funny 
pass  when  one  of  the  old  IDth's  boys  is  l)ash- 
ful  about  yarning  to  another." 

"Lord!  ye  don't  need  t'  think  that,"  said 
the  veteran.  "  /  ain't  bashful  'bout  tellin' 
ye.  All  I  was  'fraid  of  was  that  p'raps  ye'd 
think  I  set  myself  up  for  bein'  extra  courage- 
ous —  which  I  don't.  Wal,  here's  all  th" 
storv  there  is  to  "t : 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  53 

"  We  was  down  here  in  Virginia,  at  a  place 
we  called  Three  Mile  Creek  —  'twouldn't  be 
many  hundred  miles  from  here,  'f  a  crow  was 
t'  fly  it.     Like  enough  ^ou  was  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  ought  to  remember  it,"  said  the 
colonel,  "  we  lost  some  men  there.  Go  on, 
sergeant." 

"  Lost  some  men,  hey  ? "  said  Farwell, 
clasping  his  hands  behind  his  head,  and  com- 
fortably stretching  his  legs  out  upon  the 
gravelled  path.  "  Wal,  I  guess  ye'll  be  inter- 
ested in  what  I'm  goin'  t'  tell  ye,  'f  that's  so. 
I  da'say,"  he  continued,  "  ye  kin  remember 
that  there  was  some  shots  fired,  an'  that  our 
skirmishers  come  back  so  sudden  that  they 
forgot  t'  bring  along  a  few  that  warn't  able 
t'  walk.  In  fac',  they  run  back,  an'  we  in 
th'  batt'ry  thought  it  an  almighty  poor 
showin'  on  th'  part  o'  th'  infantry.  But 
p'raps  we  wasn't  in  no  position  t'  jedge." 

"  It  was  that  sudden  volley  from  the  woods 
that  sent  the  boys  back  in  disorder,"  said  the 
colonel  shortly.  "  The  skirmish  line  was 
made  up  of  seven  companies  of  the  — th ; 
1719/  company  was  one  of  the  three  in  re- 
serve." 

"  Why  didn't   they  wait    t'    see  what    hit 


54  ONE    RECORD    ON    THE 

"em  ? "'  asked  the  sergeant  in  a  tone  which 
showed  traces  of  contempt.  "  D'  ye  think 
'twas  til'  right  thing  t'  skedaddle  away  'thout 
bringin'  in  tli'  wonnded?  " 

'^  No,  I  don't,"'  said  the  colonel,  flushing  a 
little,  "  and  it  wasn't  like  the  '  Old  Regiment ' 
to  do  it.  But  the  boys  were  pretty  well  worn 
out  and  broken  down  by  the  marching  and 
fighting  we'd  had,  and  the  attack  was  so  sud- 
den and  unexpected  that  it  rattled  them  for 
a  time.  You  must  admit,  sergeant,  tliat  we 
liad  as  good  a  reputation  as  any  regiment  in 
the  19th  Corps." 

"•  Wal,  that's  so,"  said  the  old  fellow,  brush- 
ing an  ash  stain  from  his  blouse,  "  an'  I  s'pose 
we  noticed  th'  break  more  'cause  we  warn't 
used  t*  lookin'  for  sich  displays  on  3-our  part. 
Now,  we  was  posted  up  on  a  little  knoll,  ye 
remember,  well  over  towards  th'  right ;  an' 
when  th'  Rebs  showed  up  in  th'  open  —  for 
t'  foller  up  you  infantry  fellers  —  we  jes' 
dropped  a  round  *r  two  o'  shell  down  that 
way,  sort  o'  hintin'  to  'em  t'  go  back  where 
they'd  come  from." 

"  So  that  was  t/oicr  battery,  was  it?  "  asked 
Colonel  Elliott.  ''  From  the  way  the  guns 
were  served  I  always  thought  it  was  a  regu- 
lar battery." 


BEGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  55 

"  Sho  !  we'd  been  in  service  'most  three 
year  then,"  said  the  veteran  gunner,  quickly- 
resenting  this  rellection  upon  the  efficiency 
of  his  beloved  battery,  "  an'  we'd  had  good 
practice  an'  lots  of  it,  too.  Would  we  be 
takin'  p'ints  from  th'  reg'lars  or  anybody 
else  ?  I  guess  not !  No,  not  by  a  gol  durn 
sight!" 

"  You  used  to  put  up  some  pretty  stiff 
work  in  your  line,"  the  colonel  hastened  to 
say,  after  this  outburst.  "Why,  my  boys 
have  yelled  themselves  hoarse  many  a  time 
when  you  fellows  have  gone  thundering  by 
to  take  up  position  and  unlimber." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  I  put  in  at  this  point,  "  even 
we  young  men  have  heard  of  Burdett's  Bat- 
tery, and  the  work  it  did  "  —  which  wasn't 
altogether  true,  but  served  to  mollify  the  dis- 
turbed sergeant  just  as  well  as  if  it  had  been. 

"  Go  on,  sergeant,"  said  the  colonel,  "  tell 
us  when  you  came  in.  It  isn't  possible  that 
you  were  the  —  " 

"  'Twas  terrible  hot  that  noon,"  began  the 
old  fellow,  as  if  he  had  paid  no  attention  to 
what  we  had  been  saying.  "  Th'  air  was 
close  an'  muggy,  an'  th'  smoke  jest  hung 
'round   's  if  'twas   too   tired   t'   drift   away. 


56  OXE    RECORD    ON    THE 

Wliy,  Ave  .sent  up  ring-.s  o'  smoke  from  th' 
guns  that  Avas  jes'  as  perfect  's  that  one," 
pointing  towards  one  I  just  had  blown  from 
my  lips,  "  an'  they  lasted  a  heap  siglit  longer 
'n  that  did,  too." 

"  Yes,"  assented  the  colonel,  "it  certainly 
was  hotter  than  —  " 

"  Tophet  an'  th'  brazen  hinges  thereof," 
said  the  veteran.  "  Yes,  'twas  mvfnl  hot,  an' 
a'ter  th'  flurry  was  over  —  that  time  we 
served  th'  guns  so  fast  —  /was  jest  a-sweat- 
m',  I  kin  tell  ye.  Thirsty,  tc.?  Wal,  T 
ruther  guess !  Prob'bly  that  was  what  put 
it  inter  my  head  t'  take  a  couple  o'  canteens 
an'  slip  down  inter  th'  medder  where  your 
skirmishers  had  left  their  dead  an*  wounded. 
Ye  see,  a'ter  Td  si:)onged  my  gun,  an'  sent 
home  another  shell  in  case  it  should  l)e 
needed,  I  took  a  drink,  an'  while  I  had  th' 
oF  canteen  up  t'  my  lips  th'  thought  come 
t'  me  that  p'raps  some  o'  th'  poor  devils 
layin'  out  there  in  th'  sun  might  be  gettin' 
dryer  'n  all  torment." 

The  colonel  had  risen  from  the  bench  and 
slowly  was  pacing  to  and  fro  upon  the  path, 
but  he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  old  ser- 
geant, and,  when  he  paused,  broke  out  with, 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  57 

"  So  ^ou  were  the  one  who  went  to  give  water 
to  our  boys.    Why,  man,  the  risk  was  awful ! " 

"  'Twarn't  neither,"  said  the  old  fellow, 
bluntly.  "  I  got  back  all  right,  didn't  I  ?  " 
and  then,  as  his  eye  fell  upon  a  long,  low 
steamer,  which  was  ploughing  its  way  along 
towards  Newport  News,  he  dismissed  the 
whole  matter  with,  "  B'gosh !  ain't  that  a 
pretty  sight?  See  th'  smoke  trailin'  out 
behind,  an"  watch  th'  sparkle  o'  th"  water. 
Oh,  this  is  a  great  place  in  some  ways.  Here 
'tis  'most  November,  an'  I'm  settin'  out  here 
'thout  no  overcoat,  an'  warm  's  a  pot  o' 
beans." 

"You  were  fired  upon,  weren't  you?" 
asked  the  colonel,  whose  face  wore  a  look  I 
never  had  seen  there.  Farwell  glanced  at 
the  scene  before  him  for  a  moment  longer, 
and  then  turned  his  eyes  upon  his  questioner. 
"  Oh,  yis,  th'  Johnnies  practised  on  me  a 
little,  an'  I  got  scratched  'crost  th'  wrist. 
There's  th'  mark,"  he  said,  drawing  up  his 
sleeve,  and  displaying  a  scar  which  ran  diag- 
onally across  the  flesh.  "  I  got  out  of  it  well 
enough,  but  I  was  all-fired  sorry  'bout  that 
lieutenant  I  brought  in  with  me.  He  was 
livin'  when    I   picked  him    up,  but  when   I 


58  ONE    liKrORD    ON    THE 

turned  hini  over  t'  th'  boys  that  run  out  t' 
meet  nie,  he  was  deader  'u  a  door-nail — shot 
plum'  through  i\\  liead  wliile  I  was  a-luggiu' 
him  in,  ari'  I  never  knowed  it!  Must  ha' 
b'en  that  I  was  excited  —  or  else  my  wrist 
hurt  me  so  T  didn't  notice.  Poor  little  cuss! 
I've  always  felt  that  lie  might  ha'  be'n  alive 
yet  'f  I'd  let  him  be.  But  ye  can't  tell;  no, 
ye  can't  tell,  an'  I  meant  well,  anyhow." 

"  It  must  be  something  more  than  chance 
that  has  brought  us  together,"  said  the  colonel. 
"  Why,  sergeant,  that  lieutenant  was  one  of 
my  closest  chums  —  poor  little  Hale,  of  Com- 
pany H.     And  you  brought  him  in  !  " 

"  Wal,  I  didn't  mean  t'  get  him  killed," 
began  Farwell,  grasping  the  hand  the  colonel 
offered,  '■'  an'  I'm  sorry  —  " 

"•  You  need  be  sorry  for  nothing,"  broke 
in  Colonel  Elliott,  "for  the  surgeon  looked 
him  over  as  he  lay  there  in  our  lines,  and 
found  that  he  had  been  mortally  wounded  at 
first,  so  the  shot  that  came  last  was  only  a 
merciful  one." 

'•  Now,  tliaCs  a  piece  o'  good  news,"  ex- 
claimed the  old  man.  "  I've  always  worried 
myself,  more  or  less,  wonderin'  'f  I  hadn't 
ouo'hter  ha'  let  him  lay  where  I  found  him. 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  59 

So  Hwarnt  my  fault  ?  Gosh !  I'm  glad  o' 
that !  Wal,  that's  what  they  give  me  th' 
medal  for,  an',  's  I  said  in  th'  fust  place,  it 
don't  signify  much,  one  way  or  t'other." 

I  got  up  and  shook  hands  with  the  old 
fellow,  and  then  —  because  I  had  a  sort  of 
impression  that  the  colonel  would  like  to  be 
left  for  a  minute  alone  with  him  —  I  walked 
over  to  the  sea-wall,  and  stood  looking  out 
over  the  blue  waters  where  the  Cumberland 
had  gone  down,  with  the  old  flag  defiantly 
waving,  and  her  men  still  standing  by  the 
smoking  guns.  But  I  wasn't  thinking  of 
the  heroism  that  has  made  this  place  forever 
famous.  No  ;  I  was  wondering  if  /could  do 
what  the  old  gunner  had  done,  and  then 
make  so  little  account  of  it  afterwards.  I 
had  been  standing  there  for  perhaps  ten 
minutes,  watching  the  gulls  as  they  lazily 
swept  by,  when  I  felt  a  hand  upon  my 
shoulder,  and  heard  the  colonel  say,  "  It 's 
time  we  were  getting  back  to  the  hotel. 
We've  had  experiences  enough  for  one  morn- 
ing, eh,  Jack  ?  Well,  now  what  do  you  think 
of  the  stuff  we  had  in  the  old  corps  ?  " 

"  Pretty  good  stuff,  if  that's  a  fair  sample," 
I  returned,  glancing  over  at  the  bench  where 


60  ONE    RECORD     ON     THE 

1  had  left  the  old  sergeant  seated.  "  Hello  ! 
he's  crone." 

"  Yes,  there  he  is,  walking  back  to  quar- 
ters. But  you'll  see  him  again,"  said  the 
colonel,  and  as  we  trudged  along  back 
towards  the  hotel  he  explained  for  my  aj)- 
proval  the  details  of  a  scheme  which  he  had 
evolved. 

Well,  the  upshot  of  the  whole  matter  was 
that  when  we  went  north,  ten  days  later, 
Sam  —  for  "  Sam  ''  is  his  oificial  title  now  — 
went  with  us.  It  took  some  trouble  to  get 
him  started,  for  he  liad  settled  himself  at 
Hampton  for  a  winter  of  ease  and  genteel 
laziness.  But  the  colonel  has  a  very  per- 
suasive way  about  him,  and  finally  Sam  fell 
a  victim  to  it.  So  now  he  is  installed  as 
presiding  genius  at  "  The  Battery,"  and 
under  his  watchful  eye  that  comfortable 
roost  of  ours  becomes  more  comfortable  day 
by  day  ;  for  who  can  build  the  cheeriest  fire, 
who  can  most  brightly  polish  our  pewter 
mugs,  who  can  while  away  a  dull  half  hour 
with  yarns  of  the  by -gone  days  in  camp  and 
field  —  who,  but  Sam  ? 

One  drill-night,  not  long  after  he  had  come 
among  us,  he  turned  up  at  the  armory  and 


REGIMENTAL    ROLLS.  61 

for  nearly  an  hour  stood  watching  the  com- 
panies as  they  went  through  with  their 
night's  work.  I  noticed  him  as  he  stood  in 
one  corner  of  the  long  hall,  and  thought  that 
he  seemed  greatly  interested  ;  but  I  must 
admit  that  I  was  surprised  when,  a  little 
later,  he  walked  into  the  colonel's  room  and 
announced  that  he  wished  to  enlist.  Now, 
the  law  allows  us  one  orderly  at  headquar- 
ters, and  as  that  place  then  happened  to  be 
unfilled  we  gave  it  to  him. 

The  colonel  himself  mustered  him  in,  and 
I  stood  by  during  the  ceremony.  Sam  stood 
erect  and  motionless,  and  with  uplifted  hand 
swore  "to  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to 
the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,"  and 
after  he  had  slowly  repeated  the  closing 
words  of  the  military  oath  —  "I  do  also 
solemnly  swear  that  I  will  support  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States.  So  help  me 
God  "  —  he  let  fall  his  hand,  and  said,  "  It 's 
close  onto  thirty  years.  Gunnel,  sence  I  said 
them  words,  an'  th'  last  time  I  said  'em  they 
meant  a  good  deal  t'  me.  But  they  aint  lost 
none  o'  their  meanin '  —  an'  if  this  reg'ment 
ever  has  t'  go  out  I'll  go  with  it,  though  I'd 
a  darn  sight  ruther  be  at  th'  trail  of  a  gun 


62  ONE    RECORD. 

than  go  t'  foolin'  with  a  muskit  at  my  time 
o'  life." 

Later  in  the  evening  I  happened  to  see 
Sam's  muster  rolls  lying  upon  the  colonel's 
desk,  and  out  of  curiosity  glanced  through 
them.  "  jY(nni' :  Farwell,  Samuel,"  I  read, 
"  Rank:  Private  (Hdq'rs  Orderly).  Age  : 
65  years.  Occupation  :  Gentleman.  Remarks  : 
Private,  Corporal,  Sergeant ;  Burdett's  (N. 
H.)  Light  Battery,  U.S.  Vols.,  1861-65  ; 
Medal  of  Honor  for  distinguished  bravery." 
With  my  linger  upon  the  column  in  which 
Sam's  occu})ation  was  recorded  as  that  of 
"  Gentleman,"  I  looked  inquiringly  at  the 
colonel,  who  answered  my  unspoken  ques- 
tion with —  "That's  v\g:\\t  enough,  i'dck.  In 
the  first  place,  he's  a  soldier,  and  you  ought 
to  know  that  the  profession  of  the  soldier  is 
the  profession  of  the  gentleman.  In  the 
second  j^lace,  he  wasn't  doing  anything  for 
a  living  when  we  found  him  —  and  that 
surely  is  gentlemanly.  And  lastly,  lie  is  a 
gentleman,  every  inch  of  him,  and  I  '11  thank 
you  not  to  question  it." 


OUR    HORSE    ''ACME" 


OUR    HORSE    "ACME." 


THE  paymaster  piled  up  a  neat  little 
heap  of  documentaiy  odds  and  ends, 
shoved  it  to  one  side,  and  banged  down 
upon  it  a  heavy  paper-weight.  Then  he 
slammed  together  the  thick,  leathern  covers 
of  the  regimental  roll-book,  and  by  sheer 
force  of  muscle  hoisted  that  precious  and 
ponderous  volume  up  to  its  appointed  rest- 
ing-place. And  finally,  after  he  had  sent 
crashing  down  the  lid  of  his  desk,  he  thrust 
his  hands  into  his  pockets,  drew  a  long 
breath,  and  looked  over  towards  the  adjoin- 
ing desk,  where  the  colonel  sat  writing. 

For  a  minute  or  so,  after  this  racket  had 
subsided,  the  scratching  of  the  colonel's  pen 
steadily  continued,  but  finally  there  came  a 
long,  rasping  sound  of  steel  upon  paper, 
denoting  the  flourish  at  the  end  of  a  signa- 
ture, and  the  colonel  reached  for  the  blotter, 


66  OUE   HOUSE   ■' ACMEr 

saying,  as  he  applied  it  to  the  writing  before 
him,  "  So  you've  concluded  to  call  it  a  day's 
work,  eh  ?  Well,  why  couldn't  you  sa//  so, 
instead  of  making  row  enough  to  raise  the 
dead  and  deafen  the  living  ?  I  take  it  that 
your  infernal  old  rolls  are  straightened  out 
at  last."' 

''  Rolls  are  up  to  date  :  everything's  up  to 
date,  and  Fm  square  with  the  game  again," 
replied  the  paymaster,  locking  his  desk  and 
pocketing  the  key.  "  About  ready  to  stroll 
along.  Colonel  ?  Brown  lias  stuck  Iris  head 
in  through  the  doorway  a  couple  of  times, 
with  an  expression  on  his  face  which  forces 
me  to  think  that  he  considers  our  room 
worth  more   than  our  company." 

"  I'm  ready  to  call  quits,  "  said  the  colonel, 
folding  his  letter  and  slipping  it  into  an 
envelope.  ''Hello,  Brown  I"  to  the  armorer, 
who  had  made  a  third  suggestive  appearance 
at  the  door.  "  Keeping  you  up  ?  Too  bad  ! 
Well,  you  may  put  out  these  lights,  and  in 
a  minute  more  we'll  be  out  of  my  room,  too. 
Come  along.  Pay,  it's  time  decent  people 
were  at  home." 

"  But  we're  not  '  decent  people,' "  ob- 
jected   the   paymaster,    as   he   followed    the 


OUR  HORSE  ''acme:'  67 

colonel  to  his  private  room  beyond  ;  "  we're 
officers  of  the  militia,  and,  in  the  estimation 
of  many  worthy  citizens,  that  ranks  us  just 
one  peg  below  decency.  You  know  Vander- 
crumb  —  old  Judge  Vandercrumb  ?  Well, 
t'other  day  he  was  at  my  house  and  hap- 
pened to  see  my  commission  hanging  in  the 
library.  '  What ! '  says  he,  in  a  politely  dis- 
gusted sort  of  way,  '  i/ou  in  the  militia  ? 
Well,  I  must  say,  Langforth,  I'm  surprised 
to  find  you  guilty  of  that ! ' "  and  the  pay- 
master laughed,  as  he  remembered  the  in- 
flection with  which  the  words  had  been 
spoken.  The  colonel  laughed,  too,  for  Lang- 
forth had  imitated  to  perfection  the  tones  of 
shocked  respectability,  and  the  anecdote 
amused  him  the  more  because  it  bore  so 
close  a  resemblance  to  many  experiences  of 
his  own. 

"It  always  has  been  so,"  he  said,  as  he 
drew  on  his  light  overcoat,  "  and  always  will 
be,  I  dare  say.  People  see  only  one  side  — 
the  'fuss  and  feather  '  aspect  —  of  volunteer- 
ing, and  the  traditions  of  the  old  '  milishy  ' 
days  are  slow  in  dying  out.  Well,  I  suppose 
we  can  stand  it  all,  but  at  times  it  galls  a 
bit." 


68  oil!  HORSE '' acme:' 

"  Yes,  it  ?'.*  rather  rough,  to  work  hard  and 
faithfully,  year  in  and  year  out,  and  then  be 
rewarded  by  hearing  some  fellow  at  one's 
club  wondering  '  liow  the  devil  anybody  can 
take  any  interest  in  such  boy's  play,'  "  said 
the  paymaster,  whose  lionest  love  for  the 
service  made  him  peculiarly  sensitive  to  any 
covert  sneers  directed  at  it.  "^  But,  as  you 
say,  we  can  stand  it  ;  and,  besides,"  he  went 
on,  "  we  have  our  fun  in  our  quiet  way,  and 
I'm  weak  enougli  to  pity  the  outsiders,  for 
they  miss  more  dowinight  sport  than  I  would 
be  willing  to  forego." 

"  Yes,  we  certainly  have  our  fun,"  said 
Colonel  Elliott,  as  he  walked  with  the  pay- 
master down  the  granite  steps  of  the  armory 
and  out  into  tlie  deserted  street,  "but  it's 
been  'all  work'  to-night,  eh,  Langfortli? 
Phew !  I've  written,  since  eight  o'clock, 
more  letters  than  there  are  in  the  whole  con- 
demned alphabet." 

"  I've  done  my  share,  too,  "  remarked  his 
companion,  taking  advantage  of  the  glare  of 
a  chance  electric  light  to  consult  his  watch. 
"  Quarter  past  eleven  ;  well,  it  might  be 
worse." 

"  Say,  Langforth,"  observed   the    colonel, 


OUR  HORSE  'acme:'  69 

abruptly  halting  as  they  came  to  a  corner, 
'•  if  we  switch  off  here  and  step  out  a  trifle 
faster  we  can  flank  The  Battery,  get  a  pew- 
ter and  a  sandwich,  and  do  it  all  before  mid- 
night.    What  do  you  say  —  do  or  don't  ?  " 

"  Heads,  we  go  ;  tails,  we  also  go  — home," 
replied  Langforth,  yawning,  and  extracting 
from  his  change  pocket  a  nickel.  "  Tails  — 
and  be  hanged  to  it !  "'  he  ejaculated,  as  he 
held  the  coin  up  to  the  light.  "  Well,  that 
settles  it ;  we'll  go  up  to  The  Battery.  It 
takes  more  than  a  miserable  five-cent  bit  to 
send  me  hungry  and  thirsty  to  bed." 

"  Come  ahead,  then,"  said  the  colonel, 
laughing  at  the  ease  with  which  his  com- 
panion set  aside  the  verdict  of  the  coin. 
"  That's  not  such  a  bad  system  of  yours  : 
snapping  to  see  what  you'll  do,  and  then 
doing  what  you  please.  Always  work  it  that 
way  ? ' ' 

"No,  not  always,"  returned  the  paymaster, 
lengthening  his  stride  in  order  to  keep  up 
with  the  pace  set  by  the  colonel,  "  only 
sometimes;  and  this  is  one  of  the  times. 
Suppose  we  shall  find  anybody  up  there  ?  " 

"  The  genial  Pollard  is  sure  to  be  there. 
He's  a  fixture.     Can't  see  why  he  pays  dues 


70  ouji  uoESE  ''acme:' 

at  his  club,  can  you?  Since  we  started  this 
institution  he's  never  spent  an  evening  any- 
where else.  Well,  here  we  are  —  all  exce])t 
the  stairs,"  said  tlie  colonel,  turning  in  at 
the  court  at  whose  far  end,  away  up  in  the 
darkness,  the  lights  of  The  Battery  invitingly 
twinkled.  "  Hello !  "  he  exclaimed,  a  moment 
later,  as  he  opened  the  door  at  the  head  of 
the  last  flight  of  stairs,  "  here's  Pollard,  sure 
enough  —  and  '  liones,'  and  a  couple  more 
men,"  and  with  this  he  walked  over  towards 
the  table  around  which  the  earlier  comers 
were  seated. 

"  Colonel  Elliott,  let  me  present  Lieutenant 
Hotchkiss  and  Ensign  Hatch,  both  of  the 
Naval  Battalion,"  said  the  surgeon,  rising 
and  designating  these  officers  with  a  graceful 
wave  of  his  cigar.  "  Gentlemen,  this  is 
Langforth,  our  'Pay.'  Ah,  you've  met 
him  ?  "  The  two  late  comers  drew  up  chairs, 
and  made  known  to  Sam  their  requirements ; 
and  then  the  colonel,  turning  towards  the 
surgeon,  said,  "  Bones,  what  is  it?  You  look 
troubled." 

"  Well,  to  tell  the  truth,'"  replied  the 
surgeon,  ruefully  glancing  at  his  questioner, 
"  I  was  going  to  tell  these  fellows  how  I  won 


O  UR    HOB  SE  ' '  .1 CME. " '  71 

the  cavalry  cup,  but  now  I  suppose  I  shall 
have  to  defer  it  to  another  time." 

"  Oh,  go  ahead  with  your  yarn  — •  spring 
it,"  said  the  colonel.  " '  Pay  '  and  I  don't 
mind,  and  Pollard  the  genial  never  will  in- 
terrupt. Besides,  with  three  of  us  here, 
you'll  not  be  apt  to  deviate  very  widely  from 
the  truth,  and  truth  is  desirable  in  all  reports 
of  a  military  Nature.  Go  ahead  !  "  and  the 
colonel,  with  a  wink  at  Langforth,  took  the 
mug  which  Sam  had  brought  him. 

"  Well,  you  see,  it  was  like  this,"  began 
the  surgeon,  clasping  his  hands  behind  his 
head,  and  comfortably  leaning  back  in  his 
chair.  "In  camp,  last  summer,  we  had  the 
athletic  fever  pretty  badly,  and  the  way  all 
hands  went  in  for  games  of  various  sorts  was 
a  caution." 

" '  Games  of  various  sorts,'  "  echoed  Pol- 
lard, winking  at  the  paymaster,  and  making 
motions  as  if  dealing  a  pack  of  invisible 
cards.     "  That's  not  bad.  Bones." 

^'- Out-door  gsiines,  oi.  various  sorts,"  amended 
the  surgeon.  "  Cork  up,  will  you,  and  don't 
let  these  sailors  carry  away  wrong  impressions 
of  us." 

"All    right,    old    man,"    replied    Pollard^ 


T2  CH'h'    llOh'SE   ''ACME." 

catching  Sam's  eye,  and  holding  up  one 
finger  to  denote  drought;  '"only  don't  be  so 
ambiguous  in  your  remarks.  But  really,  v/e 
did  have  lots  of  athletic  enthusiasm,  last 
camp,  and  it  ^A^as  very  tiring  to  see  the  boys 
all  sweating  after  some  record  or  other  — 
when  they  were  off  duty  —  instead  of  lying 
'round  in  their  tents  and  keeping  cool." 

"  The  cavalry  fellows,"  resumed  Bones, 
"didn't  seem  able  to  muster  much  talent  in 
the  way  of  track  athletes,  and  for  a  time 
they  weren't  in  it  at  all.  But  one  night, 
between  tattoo  and  taps,  little  Whateley  — 
second  lieutenant,  you  know,  of  •  H  '  troop 
—  came  riding  down  the  lines,  stopping  at 
all  the  regimental  headcj^uarters,  and  finally 
he  brouglit  up  at  our  marquee. 

"  A  few  of  us  were  sitting  there,  smoking  a 
good-night  pipe  before  turning  in,  and  we 
made  him  dismount  before  telling  us  his 
errand.  Well,  I  ordered  up  a  little  pre- 
scription for  him,  to  counteract  the  eftects  of 
the  nicjht  air,  and  when  he'd  got  back  his 
breath  —  " 

"  Gad  I  "  put  in  one  of  the  visitors,  "  is  that 
the  way  your  doses  work,  doctor?'" 

•'  Did   I  say  it  was  the  prescription  ?  "  in- 


OUR  HORSE  ''acme:'  73 

quired  the  tloctor,  unclasping  his  hands, 
and  leaning  forward  to  take  a  pipe  from  the 
table.  "  He  might  have  been  out  of  breath 
from  riding  so  far.  Anyway,  he  got  his 
breath  back,  as  I've  stated,  and  used  it  to 
remark  that  the  cavalry  took  a  deep  interest 
in  military  sports,  and  had  chipped  in  to  buy 
a  silver  tankard  to  be  ridden  for  by  the 
mounted  officers  in  the  brigade.  And  he 
further  said — -with  a  grin,  too,  confound  his 
youthful  impudence  !  —  that  he  knew  we 
could  enter  some  mighty  fine  material,  for 
the  reputation  for  horsemanship  of  our  field 
and  staff  was  more  than  local. 

"  Now,  that  last  insinuation  was  too  much, 
and  we  told  him  that  he  needn't  worry —  we'd 
be  represented.  So  off  he  rode,  declining  to 
take  another  dose  of  my  good  medicine, 
though  I  told  him  that  the  prescription  read, 
'  Repeat  as  required,'  which  meant  once  in 
five  minutes.  Well,  after  he'd  gone,  we 
began  to  talk  it  all  over,  and  the  discussion 
as  to  who  best  could  afford  to  run  the  risk  of 
breaking  his  neck  for  the  glory  of  the  regi- 
ment and  the  good  of  the  service  was  an  an- 
imated one,  you'd  do  well  to  believe." 

"Yes  —  and    I     remember     the    extreme 


T4  orn  nonsM  '■  ACMEr' 

modesty  with  which  everybody  suggested 
some  other  man  for  that  distinction,"  re- 
marked the  cohmel  in  a  reminiscent  way, 
"and  how  you  all  fell  over  each  other  in 
your  anxiety  to  let  somebody  else  do  the 
riding  and  gather  in  tlie  glory.'' 

-  Well,  I'd  been  <letailed  as  Field  Officer 
of  the  Day  for  the  date  the  race  was  sched- 
uled," Major  Polhird  hastened  to  explain ; 
while  Langforth  promptly  came  in  with  the 
remark,  "And  I  hardly  had  got  into  shape 
from  my  winter's  attack  of  grippe.'' 

•'There,  flu're!"'  exclaimed  the  colonel, 
with  a  wave  of  liis  hand,  "  we  don't  care  to 
have  all  that  over  again.  For  my  own  part, 
I  couldn't  ride  liecause  —  well,  because  it 
hardly  would  do  for  a  regimental  commander 
to  so  far  forget  himself  as  to  go  in  for  any- 
thing of  that  sort.     See?  '" 

"  In  other  words,  six  of  us  didn't  dare  to 
go  in,  and  the  remaining  half-dozen  were 
afraid  to,"  said  the  surgeon,  drawing  up  one 
foot  to  rest  it  easily  across  his  knee.  "  Well, 
it  all  ended  in  my  being  chosen  by  acclama- 
tion to  represent  the  glorious  Third,  and, 
though  I  wasn't  exactly  '  impatient  to  mount 
and  ride,'  yet  I  made  the  best  of  it,  and  tried 
to  pretend  that  I  was." 


ouB  HORSE  ''acme:'  75 

"  It  seems  to  have  been  acknowledged  that 
you  were  the  best  rider  in  your  regiment," 
suggested  one  of  the  visitors. 

"  Oh,  I  hardly  should  care  to  claim  so 
much  as  that,"  replied  Bones,  with  a  glance 
at  his  brother  officers,  "  but  I've  been  nine 
years  in  the  service  without  falling  off  my 
horse  —  and  that's  a  pretty  fair  record  for  a 
staff  officer  of  volunteers.  Well,  as  I've 
said,  I  was  elected  without  a  dissenting 
voice  —  except  ray  own  —  and  the  ill-con- 
cealed joy  of  Wilder,  our  assistant  surgeon, 
was  something  worth  seeing.  He's  looking 
for  promotion,  you  know,  and  a  casual  broken 
neck  on  my  part  would  have  given  it  to 
him." 

"  Pardon  the  interruption,"  interposed  the 
colonel,  blandly,  "  but  there  will  be  a  va- 
cancy for  Wilder,  and  very  soon,  too,  if 
you  cast  any  more  reflections  upon  the  horse- 
manship of  my  military  family." 

"  Gracious  !  did  I  ?  "  asked  Bones,  hastily. 
"  Impossible !  Why,  we  all  ride,  and  ride 
well;  all  except  the  adjutant.     He  cant!'''' 

"  Pardon  me  again,  doctor, "  said  the 
colonel,  sighing  wearily,  "  but  the  adjutant 
can  ride,  too.     I've  seen  him.  " 


76  OlJIi    HORSE    "  AVMEr 

"  If  you  say  so,  I  suppose  I"m  not  to  dis- 
pute it, "  rejoined  the  surgeon,  meekly.  "  But, 
if  he's  such  a  good  rider,  don't  you  think  it 
was  just  a  little  rough  on  him  to  take  him  up 
four  flights  of  stairs,  as  you  did  only  last 
week,  and  introduce  him  to  the  wooden  vault- 
ing-horse in  the  regimental  gymnasium?" 
The  colonel  laughed  at  this  recital  of  the 
latest  headquarters'  joke,  and  Bones  contin- 
ued, "Well,  even  if  the  adjutant  is  rather 
amateurish  in  his  riding,  he  at  least  is  en- 
titled to  some  o£  the  credit  for  winning  the 
cup,  for  he  furnished  my  mount. 

"  You  see,  Charley  had  a  horse,  last  camp, 
that  suited  him  'way  down  to  the  ground. 
His  walking  gait  was  the  poetry  of  motion  ; 
in  fact,  it  was  hard  to  get  him  to  move  at  any 
faster  pace.  But  somehow,  by  slapping  him 
with  the  reins  and  clucking  to  him,  like  a 
woman  calling  hens,  Charley  sometimes  man- 
aged to  get  him  into  a  lope  that  was  just 
about  as  easy  as  a  rocking-chair,  and  didn't 
seem  to  cover  ground  much  more  rapidly 
than  a  rocking-chair  could.  We  used  to  sug- 
gest that  spurring  would  be  a  more  military 
method  of  getting  the  beast  under  way,  but 
Charley  always  replied  tliat  spurs  were  un- 


OUR    HORISE     'A CME. "  77 

necessarily  cruel  things,  and  that  he  hadn't 
the  heart  to  do  anything  to  interrupt  the  en- 
tente cordiale  existing  between  him  and  his 
charger.  " 

"  Wasn't  it  a  ratty-looking  beast,  though  !  " 
put  iu  Langforth,  setting  down  his  mug  and 
laughing  aloud.  "  We  christened  him  '  Acme, ' 
he  was  such  a  perfect  skate.  " 

'' '  Handsome  is  as  handsome  does," "  quoted 
Bones,  sententiously.  "  His  performances  were 
remarkable,  but  he  wamt  much  on  beauty, 
especially  at  that  point  of  his  anatomy  where 
about  a  square  foot  of  hide  and  hair  was  lack- 
ing. However,  we  got  around  that  blemish 
by  borrowing  some  axle  grease  from  one  of 
the  battery  drivers  and  painting  the  bare 
spot  so  thoroughly  that  the  rest  of  his  hide 
looked  dingy  by  contrast. 

"  Now,  '  Acme '  had  one  little  peculiarity 
that  nobody  knew  anything  about ;  nobody, 
that  is,  except  Charley  and  me.  You  couldn't 
touch  him  with  a  spur  on  either  flank  with- 
out making  him  wheel  half  'round  to  the  op- 
posite side  and  bolt  for  all  that  was  in  him. 
It  was  a  pleasant  little  trick  and  one  that 
would  throw  a  man  every  time  unless  he  knew 
what  was  cominsf.     I  know  that  to  be  a  fact 


78  OUR    IIOR^E   ■■  ACME." 

because,  well,  because  he  threw  me  in  that 
way,  the  very  first  day  we  were  in  camj)." 

"•  Tlinught  you'd  been  nine  years  in  the  ser- 
vice without  ever  being  thrown,"  remarked 
Ilotchkiss,  with  the  air  of  one  scoring  a  good 
[>oint. 

"  Oh  I  no,  1  never  said  that,'*  explained  the 
imperturbable  doctor,  turning  this  thrust 
harmlessl}^  aside.  "  If  you  recall  my  words 
you  will  remember  that  I  said  I'd  never  fallen 
oif ;  to  be  thrown  off  is  a  very  different 
matter." 

'•  Ah  I  I  see.  Pardon  my  carelessness," 
said  the  discomfited  naval  visitor.  '*  We  fel- 
lows that  go  down  upon  the  sea  in  ships  aren't 
very  well  up,  I  fear,  in  these  nice  distinc- 
tions of  the  land  service.  " 

"  Naturally  not,"  said  the  surgeon,  "  and 
of  course  it's  excusable  ;  Ijut  you  readily  will 
notice  the  distinction,  which  really  is  as 
great  as  that  between  being  in  mid-ocean  and 
being  '  half-seas  over  '  would  be,  in  your  own 
case. 

"  Now,  I  recalled  that  little  experience  of 
mine  with  the  adjutant's  horse,  and  it  oc- 
curred to  me,  when  I  was  casting  about  for 
a  mount,  that  if  I  only  could  manage  to  keep 


OUK   nORSE   ''ACME."  79 

my  seat  while  he  was  executing  his  diaboli- 
cal half-face,  I  should  have  a  dead  cinch  on 
the  cup  ;  for  when  he  did  run,  after  one  of 
those  performances,  he  ran  like  the  very 
devil." 

"  He  did,  indeed,"  said  the  colonel,  smil- 
ing as  if  at  some  remembrance. 

"  It  was  on  Wednesday  night  that  little 
Whateley  dropped  in  on  us,"  Bones  continued, 
"•  and  the  race  was  on  the  card  for  Friday 
noon.  That  was  on  '  Governor's  Day,'  you 
know,  and  the  camp  was  sure  to  be  crowded 
with  visitors.  Pleasant  outlook  for  me, 
wasn't  it? 

"  Well,  on  Thursday  morning  I  borrowed 
'  Acme ',  and  rode  a  couple  of  miles  out  of 
camp  to  a  big  hay-field  I  knew  of,  because  I 
wished  to  make  sure,  by  a  strictly  private 
trial,  that  my  little  scheme  was  in  reliable 
working  order.  It  was.  Everything  went 
to  a  charm.  I  got  a  firm  grip  on  the  pommel 
and  gave  '  Acme  '  the  spur ;  whereupon  he 
spun  half  'round,  and  was  off  like  a  wild  en- 
gine on  a  drop  grade.  Yes,  he  was  off,  but, 
better  still,  I  was  on,  and  when  finally  I  got 
him  into  his  rocking-chair  lope,  I  started  back 
for    camp,    pretty    well    satisfied   with    my 


80  OUJi   J I  OB. '6  E    'ACME.' 

experiment ;  and  all  the  way  along  the  road 
1  couldn't  help  grinning  at  the  thought  of  the 
sensation  that  was  brewing  for  tlie  next  day." 

"  Well,  it  was  a  sensation,  and  that  ean't 
be  disputed,"'  commented  Pollard,  as  the 
surgeon  paused  for  a  moment.  "  We  all 
backed  you  and  '  Acme '  ;  not  because  we 
liad  any  particular  expectations,  but  just  out 
of  loyalty  to  the  old  regiment,  and  because 
the  odds  were  so  inviting.  I  took  ten  out  of 
Mixter,  myself."" 

"  Friday  morning  was  cloudy,"  said  the 
doctor,  after  he  had  brought  his  pipe  to  a 
satisfact(jry  glow,  "  and  I  half  hoped  that  it 
would  rain  before  noon,  for  I  was  getting  the 
least  shade  nervous.  Everybody  around  our 
headquarters  was  so  very  kind  that  it  made 
me  fidgety  as  a  school-girl.  At  breakfast, 
in  mess,  the  colonel  thoughtfully  opened  an 
elaborate  discussion  about  the  proper  form  of 
ceremonies  at  military  burials.  The  adju- 
tant, on  his  way  to  guard  mounting,  stopped 
long  enough  at  ray  tent  to  say  that  '  Acme  ' 
just  had  killed  one  of  the  hostlers,  and  that 
the  band  had  gone  out  of  camp  soon  after 
breakfast  for  the  purpose  of  practising  '  The 
Lost   Chord.'      And    -i/ou,    Langforth  —  con- 


OUR  HORSE    '-ACME."  81 

found  you  I  I  haven't  forgotten  liow  you 
forged  my  name  to  an  order  to  have  the 
brigade  ambulance  report  to  me  at  noon,  the 
very  hour  of  the  race. 

"  But  somehow  the  morning  went  by,  and 
at  noon  the  sky  was  beautifully  clear,  though 
the  air  was  most  horribly  lifeless  and  hot.  I 
dressed  up  in  full  fig,  helmet,  sword,  and 
all,  according  to  the  conditions,  mounted 
'  Acme,'  and  rode  out  upon  the  parade. 

"  Pretty  nearly  the  whole  brigade  had 
turned  out  to  see  the  fun,  and  around  the  start 
the  crowd  was  packed  closely,  while  groups  of 
men  were  scattered  here  and  there  alonfj  the 
three  furlongs  of  turf  over  which  the  course 
had  been  laid  out.  I  had  supposed  that  there 
would  be,  at  the  very  least,  half-a-dozen 
entries ;  but  when  I  had  succeeded  in 
manceuvering  '  Acme '  through  the  crowd 
and  up  to  the  line,  I  found  awaiting  me  just 
one  solitary  horseman.  It  was  Porter,  cap- 
tain of  "  H "  troop,  and  his  mount  was  the 
same  beautiful  thoroughbred  that  he  rides 
from  one  year's  end  to  the  other. 

"  Wasn't  I  sick '  I  never  had  a  patient 
who  felt  worse  than  I  did  then.  But  there 
was  no  such   thino-   as   backinsr  out  at  that 


82  OUR   11  OR  8  E      'ACME." 

stage  of  the  game,  and  so  I  looked  as  confi- 
dent as  possible',  and  happier,  I  hope,  thaii  I 
felt.  But  when  Porter  saluted  nie,  witli  an 
in(i[uiring  sort  of  glance  at  my  tired-looking 
mount,  and  a  grin  at  my  andacity  in  shoAV- 
ing  up  on  sucli  a  beast,  why,  I  swore  under 
my  breath  that  I'd  send  the  spur  into  poor 
old  '  Acme '  deeply  enough  to  scratch  his 
digestive  apparatus," 

"  It  was  a  funny  contrast,"'  laughed  Lang- 
forth,  with  his  mug  in  mid-transit  from  the 
table  to  his  lips.  "  Of  course.  Bones,  you're 
a  better  looking  man,  and  all  that,  than 
Porter :  but  that  hiu'se  of  his  is  a  perfect 
picture  for  style,  and  when  Charley's  old 
skate  ambled  up  beside  him  we  couldn't 
help  grinning,  any  of  us.  Do  you  remember. 
Pollard,  how  that  grease  spot  on  '  Acme's ' 
flank  showed  up  ?  " 

"  Do  I  ?  "  roared  the  major.  "■  Don't  I  ! 
Why,  Bowen,  of  the  brigade-staff,  was  stand- 
ing next  me,  and  when  he  caught  sight  of 
that  daub  of  axle-grease  he  punched  me  in 
the  ribs  and  said,  '  So  you  fellows  have 
black-leaded  your  craft,  eh  ?  Now,  I  call 
that  blasted  unsportsmanlike !  The  other 
man  hasn't  worked  any  funny  games  like 
that.'  " 


OUR  HORSE     'ACME.''  83 

"  That  was  all  right !  "  said  the  surgeon, 
grimly,  "  I  had  mi/  fun  later  —  after  the  race 
was  run. 

"  We  lined  up  for  the  start,  and  it'll  be  a 
long  while  before  I  forget  the  row  it  raised 
when  I  persisted  in  planting  '  Acme '  at 
right  angles  to  the  course.  Porter  got  mad, 
and  announced  that  he'd  come  out  to  race, 
and  not  to  take  part  in  a  circus.  Most  of 
the  brigade  set  me  down  for  being  either 
sunstruck  or  drunk,  but  I  wouldn't  budge, 
and  neither  would  '  Acme.'  Finally  Porter 
growled  out,  '  Let's  have  this  nonsense  over 
with  !  It  isn't  my  fault  that  we  can't  have 
a  race.  Start  us,  will  you  ? '  '  All  ready, 
major  ? '  the  starter  asked  me.  '  Confound 
it  all  —  yes  ! '  said  I,  looking  to  see  that  all 
was  clear  around  me,  and  then  getting  a 
death-grip  on  the  pommel. 

"  Down  went  the  flag,  and  off  went  Porter 
at  an  easy  gallop.  Up  came  my  spurred 
heel,  and  off  went  '  Acme,'  too,  after  a  whirl- 
around  that  took  away  the  breath  of  every- 
body who  saw  the  performance,  and  knocked 
end-ways  a  couple  of  gunners  who  had  edged 
in  too  close  to  the  course.  Shades  of  night ! 
How  that  old  four-legorer  flew  !     I'd  rammed 


84  OUH    HOR'^E       ACME/' 

my  spur  home  for  business,  and  tlie  way  he 
respondeil  beat  even  ray  wildest  expecta- 
tions. 

"  It  was  the  worst  run-away  ever  seen  in 
camp,  and,  before  I  knew  it,  we'd  passed 
Porter,  passed  the  iinisli,  passed  the  last  tent 
in  the  long  brigade  line,  and  passed  the 
ditch  at  the  end  of  the  field  ;  at  least,  'Acme  ' 
passed  the  ditch  —  /ne  they  picked  out  of  it," 

"  It  certainly  was  a  remarkable  burst  of 
speed,"  assented  the  colonel,  laughing-  until 
the  tears  stood  in  his  eyes.  "  When  we 
found  that  Bones  wasn't  killed  outright,  we 
went  for  the  cavalry  fellows  in  every  way, 
shajie,  and  manner  that  our  combined  talents 
could  sufrorest,  and  if  we  failed  to  make  life 
a  burden  to  them  it  wasn't  for  lack  of  try- 
ing. Come  over  here,"  he  continued,  rising 
from  his  chair,  and  leading  the  way  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  room,  where,  in  a  double 
frame,  there  hung  upon  the  wall  two  large 
photographs.  "  These  two  pictures  —  which, 
by  the  way,  we  consider  priceless  —  tell  the 
whole  story.  See  that  one  ?  Well,  that's  the 
enlargement  of  a  snap-shot  plate  caught  by 
one  cf  our  color-sergeants  when  Bones  was 
in  full  career.     Observe  the  expression  of  the 


OUR   HORSE    "  ACME."  85 

face ;  and,  above  all,  notice  that  grip  on  the 
pommel.  Isn't  it  all  grand  ?  Where  should 
Sheridan's  ride  and  Paul  Revere's  little  trip 
be  classed  beside  that  ?  " 

"  The  other  picture  in  the  frame,"  said  the 
doctor,  with  a  pardonable  air  of  pride,  "  is  a 
photo  of  the  cup  itself,  and  we  all  think  a 
heap  of  it.  The  fellows  in  the  troop,  you 
see,  had  been  going  the  rounds  of  the  camp, 
and  guying  the  life  out  of  the  Third  —  and 
me  —  for  presuming  to  enter  against  their 
crack  horse,  so  tlie  final  result  was  just  plain 
joy  for  all  hands  at  our  headquarters. 

"  I  was  excused  from  parade  that  after- 
noon," he  continued,  knocking  the  dead  ashes 
from  his  pipe,  "  because  I  was  a  trifle  tired, 
and  more  than  a  trifle  sore  —  in  spots.  Be- 
sides, it  took  one  able-bodied  darkey  the  best 
part  of  that  afternoon  to  clean  the  mud  off 
my  uniform,  knock  my  helmet  out  into 
shape,  and  straighten  out  the  kinks  in  my 
scabbard. 

"  As  for  '  Acme  ' :  well,  he  never  turned  a 
hair,  and  after  a  careless  sort  of  trot  around 
the  camp  he  came  back  to  our  stables,  look- 
ing just  as  unconcerned  and  sleepy  as  ever. 
But  he  lived  high  for  the  rest  of  that  tour  of 


«6  OUJi   HORSK    '•  ACMEr 

duty,  and  nobody  seemed  to  care  about  refer- 
ring to  him  as  a  "•  skate.' "' 

"  'Sporting  blood  will  tell,'  '"  was  Hatch's 
comment  as  the  doctor  led  the  way  to  the 
chair  where  the  overcoats  lay  piled.  "  I 
should  think,  though,  that  the  troopers  would 
have  challenged  you  to  another  go." 

"  They  have  challenged  us  —  and  more 
than  once,"  said  the  colonel,  as  Sam  held  his 
coat  for  him,  "  but  our  invariable  reply  is 
that  our  surgeon  is  too  precious  a  bit  of  bric- 
arbrac  to  risk  in  any  more  enterprises  of  that 
sort,  and  —  as  none  of  the  rest  of  us  care  to 
diminish  Bones'  glory  —  we  have  averaged 
up  matters  by  keeping  the  cup  and  conced- 
ing them  the  championship,"  and  he  moved 
towards  the  door ,  stopping,  however,  with, 
"I  wonder  which  owl  this  is?"  as  he  caught 
the  sound  of  footsteps  on  the  stairs  outside. 

"  Good  evening,  Colonel,"  sung  out  the 
new  arrival,  the  adjutant,  as  he  threw  wide 
the  door  and  stepped  blinking  into  the  room. 
"  Hello,  the  rest  of  you !  Can't  make  you 
all  out,  it's  so  bright  here  —  after  the  stairs. 
What,  all  going?" 

"  Yes,  it's  a  good  hour  beyond  taps," 
replied  the  colonel. 


OUR  HORSE  ''acme:'  87 

"  All  right,  sir  ;  I'll  go  with  you,  if  you'll 
wait  for  me  to  empty  just  one"  said  the 
adjutant,  drawing  off  his  right  glove.  "  It 
would  be  too  much  to  ask  me  to  turn  'round 
and  go  down  again  witliout  stopping  for  a 
second  wind.  One  up,  Sam  —  right  around ; 
making  six." 

"  What's  new,  Charley  ?  "  asked  the  doctor, 
as  Sara  made  off  towards  the  base  of  supplies. 

"  Can't  seem  to  think  of  anything,"  replied 
the  adjutant,  seating  himself  easily  upon  the 
nearest  table,  upon  which  he  began  vigor- 
ously to  drum  with  his  knuckles.  "  Hold  on, 
though !  Now  I  come  to  think  of  it,  I  saw 
'  Acme '  to-day.  Yes,  sir !  And  he  was 
drawing  a  hearse,  too.  Yes,  sir  !  I  followed 
the  funeral  a  block,  to  make  sure.  Well, 
here's  to  him ! "  and  the  late  master  of 
"  Acme  "  emptied  his  pewter  with  one  long, 
breathless  pull,  while  the  doctor  slowly 
drained  Ms  mug,  saying  with  unsmiling 
solemnity,  "  To  '  Acme.' " 


FROM     BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS. 


IT  was  the  evening  after  the  battle  at 
Farlow's  Farm,  and  most  of  us  — 
what's  that  ?  You  never  heard  of  any  such 
engagement  ?  Now,  isn't  that  odd !  Why, 
it  was  fought  only  last  year,  and  for  one 
whole  day  the  papers  were  full  of  it.  Well, 
though  I  had  no  idea  of  putting  a  preface  to 
the  story  I  started  to  tell,  I  suppose  I  must 
stop  long  enough  to  explain  why  there  was 
a  fight,  and  how  it  happened  that  so  many  of 
us  —  all  of  us,  in  fact  —  got  back  alive  from 
it. 

Once  a  year,  you  must  know,  there  comes 
down  from  the  State  House,  and  through 
"  proper  channels,"  a  mandate  directing  each 
volunteer  regiment  in  the  Commonwealth  to 
arm  and  equip  itself,  ration  and  supply 
itself,  and  bundle  itself  out  into  the  country 
for  what  officially  is  known  as  the  Fall  Drill. 
We  are  rather  apt  to  refer  to  an  affair  of  this 


92       FltOM    BEYOND     THE    PYRAMIDS. 

sort  as  ''going  out  with  the  regiment  for  the 
Autumn  Manoeuvres,"  because,  you  see,  this 
sounds  more  dignified,  and  lacks  the  baldness 
of  the  official  phraseology. 

Now,  an  order  for  a  Fall  Drill  means  ■ivar; 
because  it  entails  a  long  day  of  marching,  a 
prodigal  expenditure  of  blank  cartridges, 
and,  at  headquarters,  bother  and  worry  be- 
yond  reckoning. 

Yes,  when  one  of  these  orders  comes  down 
to  us  we  awake  to  an  activity  which  calls  for 
the  largest  size  of  A  in  the  spelling  of  it. 
The  quartermaster  rises  to  a  height  of  im- 
portance hard  to  estimate,  while  his  sergeant 

—  upon  whom  devolves  the  bulk  of  the  work 

—  sinks  into  a  settled  gloom  of  correspond- 
ing depth.  Tlie  surgeons  find  themselves 
pestered  with  requests  to  lay  in  a  better 
brand  of  liniment  than  the  stuff  they  took 
out  with  them  the  year  before,  which,  it 
unanimously  is  asserted,  was  too  blistering 
in  its  effect.  The  adjutant  grimly  sits  at  his 
desk  and  wrestles  with  the  "  General  Order  *' 
until  he  reaches  a  state  lialf-way  between 
utter  misery  and  hopeless  atheism.  Why? 
Because  he  knows  to  a  dead  certainty  that  a 
copy  of  it  will  find  its  way  into  every  Sunday 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS.       93 

paper  in  town,  and  therefore  tries  with  might 
and  main  —  to  say  nothing  of  the  aid  of  the 
old  order-files  for  ten  years  back  —  to  make 
of  it  a  lucid  and  grammatical  fragment  of 
English  prose, —  an  attempt  in  which  he  most 
signally  fails.  And  the  colonel :  well,  he  has 
the  task  of  tasks,  for  it  becomes  his  duty  and 
privilege  to  evolve  the  plan  of  campaign  ;  and 
the  campaign,  mind  you,  must  be  one  that 
can  be  brought  to  a  successful  issue  in  a 
single  day.  Think  of  it !  Do  you  suppose 
Sherman,  or  even  Grant  himself,  could  have 
met  without  concern  such  a  demand  upon 
strategic  resources  ? 

Days  in  advance  of  active  operations,  the 
field  officers  fill  up  their  cigar-cases  and  run 
out  into  the  country  to  look  over  the  ground  ; 
constructing,  upon  their  return,  amazing 
maps,  wherein  —  on  generously  large  sheets 
of  brown  wrapping-paper  —  a  tangle  of  blue 
lines  and  red  ones  serves  to  make  plain  the 
positions  for  the  attack  and  the  defence.  Re- 
markable productions,  those  maps !  —  with 
long  straight  marks  to  indicate  the  roads,  and 
zigzag  lines  to  denote  fences,  and  aggregations 
of  pretzel-like  symbols  to  show  where  the 
woods  lie  ;  and  many  a  mystic  sign  besides  to 


94       FBOM    BEYOND    THE    PVnAMIDS. 

stand  for  as  many  more  features  in  the  land- 
scajie.  Oh,  we  couldn't  do  without  the 
maps,  for  a  campaign  that  has  to  be  settled 
between  one  sunrise  and  the  next  sunset 
must  be  managed  very  u:iderstandingly ; 
and  yet  all  this  doesn't  seem  to  hee})  the 
enlisted  man  from  damning  up  hill  and  down 
both  the  maps  and  their  makers  when  he 
finds  himself  one  of  a  skirmishdine  stationed 
in  what  ought  to  be  a  dry  ditch,  but  isn't. 

Well,  last  fall  we  got  our  annual  order, 
went  through  with  the  usual  week's  worry 
at  headquarters,  and  then  railroaded  the  regi- 
ment out  to  Farlow's  Farm  for  its  day  of 
field  work.  The  fight  was  a  stubborn  one, 
and  the  amount  of  powder  burned  was  far  in 
excess  of  anything  before  known,  for  we  had 
raised  a  regimental  fund  and  had  purchased 
with  it  some  odd  thousands  of  cartridges  in 
addition  to  the  quantity  issued  by  the  State. 

The  tide  of  battle  swept  back  and  forth 
until  well  into  the  afternoon,  but  finally  the 
smoke-cloud  lifted  —  because  there  were  no 
more  cartridges  to  be  fired  away  —  and  in 
the  lull  a  flag  of  truce  was  sent  by  the  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, who  humbly  begged  permis- 
sion to  bury  his  dead,  and  also  announced  his 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS.       95 

readiness  to  accept  any  decent  sort  of  terms, 
since  the  umpires  had  declared  his  four  com- 
panies to  have  been  annihilated.  Now,  the 
lieutenant-colonel  and  his  men,  you  under- 
stand, represented  the  enemy,  and  since  we 
had  been  devoting  the  day  to  his  destruction 
we  sent  up  a  mighty  cheer  when  his  sub- 
mission was  made  known,  voted  the  whole 
affair  an  admirable  illustration  of  grand 
strategy,  and  prepared  to  leave  the  field  to 
solitude  and  the  sorrowful  contemplation  of 
farmer  Farlow,  its  owner. 

We  formed  line,  then  broke  by  fours  to 
the  right,  and  started  off  along  the  tree- 
shaded  country  road.  Up  at  the  head  of  the 
long  column  the  drums  rolled  and  rattled, 
while  the  bugles  and  fifes  joined  merrily  to- 
gether in  the  crazy,  rollicking  "•  Wild  Irish- 
man" quickstep — an  air  which  never  fails  to 
send  the  Third  into  its  famous,  swinging  gait. 
By  turning  in  my  saddle,  as  I  rode  in  my  place 
with  the  staff,  I  could  see  the  regiment  be- 
hind me  as  it  came  solidly  tramping  along  — 
company  after  company  of  blue-clad  men ; 
rank  on  rank  of  snowy  helmets ;  file  upon 
file  of  sloping  rifle-barrels ;  and  midway  of 
all,  the  colors,  rustling  their  silken  folds  in 


96       FBOM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS. 

time  with  the  cadenced  tread  of  the  men 
who  bore  them.  Far  in  tlie  rear  glowed  a 
ruddy  October  sunset,  making  a  fit  back- 
ground for  tlie  whole  living,  moving  picture. 
It  was  a  stirring  sight  and  a  beautiful  one, 
and  I  glanced  back  again  and  again  to  see  it, 
for  the  picturesque  side  of  the  service  has  a 
peculiar  charm  for  me. 

"  Jove !  but  that's  pretty! "  said  Van  Sickles, 
who  rode  next  me  on  the  staff,  reining  his 
horse  over  a  bit  closer  to  mine,  and  nodding 
back  towards  the  following  column.  "  People 
sometimes  ask  nie  what  earthly  attraction  I 
can  find  in  volunteer  soldiering.  Well,  a  sight 
like  that  certainly  has  strong  attractions  for 
me,"  and  he  gave  another  long  look  towards 
the  rear. 

"  Yes,  this  is  one  of  the  things  outsiders 
miss,"  said  I,  bringing  to  bear  upon  the  curb 
a  light  pressure,  as  I  noticed  that  my  horse 
gradually  was  outstepping  the  others,  "  and 
taking  it  all  together,  Van,  the  outsiders 
miss  a  great  deal." 

"  That's  so,  Jack,"  assented  Van  Sickles, 
"but  it's  hard  to  make  them  see  it.  Time  and 
again  I've  tried  to  explain  why  I  went  into 
the  service,  and  whv  I  stav  in  it :  but  I've 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS.       9T 

given  up  tliat  sort  of  thing  now,  because  my 
friends  only  laugh  and  say,  '  Well,  you  have 
got  the  fever,  Van,  but  you  can't  give  it  to 
us.'  "  Here  his  horse  stumbled  slightly,  but 
he  easily  lifted  him,  and  then  asked,  "  Say, 
old  man,  who's  this  Captain  Penryhn  ?  "  and 
he  waved  his  hand  towards  an  officer  in 
foreign  uniform  who  was  riding  next  our  sur- 
geon. 

"  Why,  you  met  him,"  said  I,  "just  before 
you  were  sent  over  to  join  '  the  enemy.'  " 

"  That's  true  enough  ;  but  I  barely  caught 
his  name,  and  beyond  the  fact  that  he's  in 
British  uniform,  and  that  Penryhn  is  his 
name  and  '  captain  '  his  title,  I'm  still  unin- 
formed." 

"  Well,  I  can't  help  you  out  to  any  great 
extent,"  I  rejoined,  just  as  the  rattle  of 
the  drums  gave  place  to  a  crash  of  brazen 
melody  from  the  band,  "  for  all  I  know  is 
that  he's  one  of  Stearns'  acquisitions,  is  over 
here  on  leave,  holds  his  commission  in  '  Her 
Majesty's  Sixty-fifth,'  and  seems  to  be  a  de- 
cent, soldierly  sort  of  fellow.  You  must  remem- 
ber that  I've  been  more  or  less  on  the  jump 
to-day,  and  haven't  had  time  to  cultivate 
acquaintances." 


98        FIWM    JlEYOyD     THE    PYRAMIDS. 

*'  We'll  get  a  chance  for  cultivation  later,  no 
doubt,"  observed  Van  Sickles  as  we  came  in 
sight  of  the  long  train  of  cars,  side-tracked 
and  waiting  to  take  us  aboard  and  carry  us 
back  to  the  city.  "  He  probably  will  dine 
with  us  to-night,  and  then  we  can  " — 

"  Battalion  —  halt!  "  rang  out  the  colonel's 
voice,  and  we  reined  up,  as  tlie  seven  hun- 
dred rifles  behind  us  were  brought  down,  with 
a  rattle  and  crash,  to  the  carry.  "  Order  — 
arias!  In  place — rest/^^  followed;  and  we 
dismounted,  and  gave  over  our  horses  to  the 
men  wailing  to  lead  them  to  their  car  at  the 
head  of  the  train. 

An  hour's  ride  brought  us  back  to  the 
city,  a  short  march  through  the  lamp-liglited 
streets  found  us  at  the  great  armory,  tower- 
ing up  in  the  dusky  twilight,  and  then,  one 
by  one,  the  companies  were  dismissed,  and 
seven  hundred  veterans  were  set  free  to  re- 
sume the  pursuits  of  peace  —  which  I  trust 
they  at  once  did.  We  of  headquarters 
dined  together  at  the  hotel  which  lies  just 
around  the  corner,  and  afterwards,  by  twos 
and  threes,  sauntered  up  to  The  Battery,  to 
smoke  our  after-dinner  cigars  and  fight  over 
again  the  day's  battle. 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS.       99 

When  Van  and  I  entered  the  cosey  old 
room  the  fun  had  been  started.  "  That's  all 
right  about  your  flank  attack,"  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  was  saying,  in  answer  to  the  senior 
major's  assertion  that  a  brilliant  move  by  his 
detachment  had  won  the  day  for  the  attack- 
ing side  ;  "  oh,  yes  —  that's  all  right ;  but  if 
it  had  been  the  '  real  thing,'  I'd  have  cut  you 
up  into  sausage-meat  with  the  sharpshooters 
I'd  tucked  into  that  clump  of  pines." 

"  Well,  why  didn't  you  —  as  it  was  ? ''  in- 
quired the  major,  calmly  cutting  the  end 
from  his  cigar. 

"Because  the  boys  had  run  short  of  ammu- 
nition," replied  the  lieutenant-colonel. 

"  Ah  I  they  had^  had  they  ?  "  remarked  the 
major  sarcastically  ;  "and  if  it  had  been  the 
real  old  stuff  I'd  have  been  wiped  out,  would 
I  ?  Humph  I  A  bush  full  of  sharpshooters 
without  ammunition  doesn't  seem  to  strike  me 
as  being  much  of  an  obstacle.  It's  no  use, 
Billy  —  there's  where  I  caught  you  napping; 
empty  boxes  are  empty  boxes,  whether 
they've  been  emptied  of  blank  or  ball." 

"  I  was  outnumbered,  anyway,"  said  the 
lieutenant-colonel,  on  the  defensive  for  the 
second  time  that  day.     "How  in   thunder 


I'X)     FUOM    BEYOND    TllK    PYKAMIDS. 

could  I  take  four  companies,  and  play  'em  off 
against  eight  V  " 

"  I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,"  pleasantly  re- 
plied the  major,  "  You  thought  you  could, 
though,  when  we  planned  this  thing  out. 
Miscalculated  just  a  hair,  eh  ?  " 

"  Hello,  here's  Stearns,"  ptit  in  Van,  with 
a  view  to  diverting  the  conversation  into 
safer  courses  before  the  traditional  tranquil- 
lity of  The  Battery  should  become  ruffled. 
''  How  are  you,  Tom  ?  Good  evening,  Cap- 
tain Penryhn.'' 

Stearns  and  his  companion  came  up  to  the 
fireplace,  in  which  a  cheerful  blaze  had  been 
kindled  to  take  the  chill  from  the  air  of  the 
cool  October  evening,  and  fur  a  moment  the 
discussion  was  dropped  ;  but  it  wasn't  long 
before  some  chance  word  renewed  the  argu- 
ment, and  so,  on  Van's  suggestion,  we  made 
a  change  of  base  to  one  of  the  small  tables 
in  the  corner  of  the  room,  and  left  the  strat- 
egists to  settle  their  differences  without  our 
aid. 

Now,  it  happened  that  Bones  had  been 
called  away  immediately  after  dinner,  and  so 
Van  appropriated  the  absent  surgeon's  pet 
story,  and  entertained  our  visitor  by  telling 
how   the   doctor   and  "  Acme "   had  brought 


FRO^f    BEYOND     THE    PVIiAMIUS.     101 

the  Cavalry  Cup  to  our  headquarters.  It 
happened  also  that  the  recital  of  this  yarn  of 
ours  reminded  the  Englishman  of  an  experi- 
ence of  his  own  —  and  that  Avas  what  I  had 
started  to  tell  you  when  I  had  to  branch  off 
into  so  many  explanations. 

"Rather  brutal  bit  of  luck,  I  should  call 
it,"  observed  the  English  captain,  referring  to 
Bones'  racing  exploit.  "  Must  have  been  very 
melancholy  for  the  troopers.  Well,  luck's  a 
factor  that  can't  be  disregarded.  I  had  a 
rare  slice  of  luck  myself,  once  on  a  time, 
and  in  the  way  of  riding,  too.  Fancy  I'll 
tell  you  of  it.     Do  you  mind?" 

No,  we  didn't  mind ;  and  so  Captain 
Penryhn  proceeded  to  tax  our  credulity  in 
this  wise  : 

"  I  ran  upon  this  particular  piece  of  good 
fortune  in  —  let  me  think  —  in  '84,"  said  he, 
bringing  out  his  words  slowly  and  with  an 
accent  which  fell  oddly  upon  our  ears,  and 
yet  certainly  detracted  nothing  froan  the  in- 
terest of  the  story.  "  It  was  in  Egypt,  where 
we'd  had  to  interfere  somewhat  in  the  course 
of  matters.  Daresay  you  remember  what 
led  up  to  all  the  bother  ? "  Van  nodded 
assent,  and  so  I  could  do  no  less,  though 
I'm    morally    certain     that     our     combined 


10-2    FRo^r  iiEYoyi)   tiik   rrnAMiDs. 

kuowleilge  of  tlie  Egyptian  question  could 
liave  been  put  into  four  lines  of  type  witliout 
overcrowding.  '' Tlien  FU  jump  i)i  mediae 
/•(■■■<  at  oTice,"'  Penrylin  went  on,  "rnerely  stop- 
ping to  explain  limv  I  liappened  to  be  in 
I'^gypt  at   that  time. 

''  T  then  was  in  the  Sixty-fifth—  the  '  York 
and  Lancaster'  regiment  —  the  same  corps 
in  which  I  now  liold  my  captaincy.  I  was 
on  leave,  Imwcver,  and  liad  obtained  per- 
mission to  attach  myself  to  the  staff  of  Baker 
Pacha,  who  was  fitting  out  his  expedition  for 
tlie  relief  of  Tol^ar.  I'd  gone  into  this  vent- 
ure simply  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  but  be- 
fore T  got  quit  of  it  I  was  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion tliat  I  possibly  had  been  led  into  it 
under  a  mistaken  set  of  impressions ;  for 
the  fun  was  much  less  in  quantity  and  of  a 
far  poorer  (pralit}'  than  T  had  anticipated." 

Penryhn  jjicked  up  the  mug  which  Sam 
had  set  upon  the  table,  took  a  long  pull  at  its 
amber  contents,  and  then  remarked,  "Do  you 
know,  this  American  beer  of  yours  is  very 
good?  Ill  fact,  I  find  myself  coming  to 
fancy  it  strongly,  though  I  must  admit 
that  at  first  I  didn't.  It's  much  the  same 
with  Americans  themselves:  v/e  Englishmen 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS.     103 

reall}'-  don't  care  much  about  theiu  until  we 
learn  to  know  them  well,  but  when  Ave  do 
know  them  we  become  verr  fond  of  them. 
I  found  that  to  be  so  in  the  case  of  Carroll  — 
Major  Carroll,  of  jowv  Eighteenth  Regular 
Cavalry,  who  was  with  me  on  the  campaign 
of  which  I  am  telling." 

"Of  our  Eighteenth  Cavalry?  "  said  I,  in- 
quiringly.    "  Wliy,  how  came  he  in  Egypt?" 

"  He  was  looking  for  sport,  as  I  was," 
Captain  Penryhn  replied.  "  He  was  military 
attache  at  Berlin,  and  had  got  leave  for  a  few 
months.  We  both  were  volunteer  aides-de- 
camp to  Baker," 

Here,  noticing  that  the  Englishman  had 
got  well  towards  the  last  inch  of  his  cigar,  I 
silently  proffered  my  freshly  filled  case.  He 
half  drew  out  a  weed,  but  pushed  it  back  to 
its  place,  saying  '•  I'm  of  a  ?nind  to  try  one 
of  your  pipes,  if  I  may  ?  '' 

"  You  certainly  sliall,"  said  1.  "  Hi !  Sam, 
bring  the  cobs."  Penryhn  took  a  pipe, 
filled  and  lighted  it,  and  then  remarked, 
"  Oh,  I  say  I  I  rather  wondered  why  so  many 
of  you  were  smoking  these  things,  but  v,ow 
1  don't.     Sweet,  isn't  it,  eh  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  call  a  cobful  of  plug  a  comfort- 


304      Fh-OM    IIKYOXD     THE    PYRAMIDS. 

ing  sort  of  smoke,"  said  Van,  "and  it  takes 
tlie  entire  crop  of  a  fifty-acre  cornfield  to 
keep  The  IJattery  su}i})lied  with  smoking 
utensils/' 

""  Not  really?"'  said  onr  astonished  guest. 

""  Possibl}' not  quite,"  I  put  in;  and  then, 
in  ord(U'  to  check  Van  in  any  further  flights 
of  imagination,  I  asked,  "  Didn't  you  have 
some  difficulty,  ca})tain,  in  getting  your  ex- 
pedition into  sliape  ?  As  I  recall  it,  at  this 
late  day,  Baker  Pacha  rather  came  to  grief  in 
Lis  attempt  at  relieving  Tokar." 

'^  Dii'liculty  ?  "'  said  Penrylm.  '■•  "^/es,  we 
had  an  abundance  of  it.  Baker  had  drawn 
toirether  a  mob  of  something  over  five  thou- 
sand  men.  Did  I  say  r>ien?  Sheep  would 
be  better  —  and  black  shee}),  too;  for  the 
ral)l>le  we  had  witii  us,  luider  the  nickname 
of  '  soldiers,'  was  made  up  for  the  most  part 
of  cowardly  Egyptian /V/ZaAfy^,  who  had  been 
driven  into  the  ranks  either  through  fear  of 
the  bastinado  or  else  by  the  actual  appli- 
cation of  it  Great  Wolseley  I  Never  such  a 
mob  had  masqueraded  as  an  army  since  war 
was  invented.'" 

"  How  were  yon  ofiicered?  "'  asked  Stearns, 
tossing  a  match  to  A^an,  wiiose  pipe  had 
iiianaeed  to  sfo  out. 


FROM    BEYOND     THE    PYRAMIDS.    105 

"  Mainly  by  Egyptians,"  replied  the  Eng- 
lishman, "  though  there  were  enough  Eu- 
ropeans to  pound  the  mass  into  at  least  a 
semblance  of  order  and  discipline.  But  it's 
utterly  impossible  to  put  brains  into  a  solid 
Egyptian  skull,  nor  can  you  put  any  heart 
into  one  of  those  miserable,  half-human /t'//(<- 
hen:  and  that  was  unfortunate,  you  know, 
because  it  takes  a  tid)-  bit  of  heart  to  go  out 
into  the  desert  against  the  wild  tribesmen ; 
while  as  for  brains  —  well,  enough  brains  for 
aiming  and  firing  a  rifle  are  almost  indis- 
pensable. 'Pon  m}'  souli  we  actually  lost 
scores  of  men  by  the  random  firing  of  our 
own  troops.     What  d" ve  think  of  that  ?  " 

"  I  think  you  ought  to  have  had  Van 
Sickles,  here,  to  do  a  little  missionary  work 
among  your  marksmen,"  said  I,  laughing. 
"  Pie's  our  I.R.P.,  yon  know,  and  since  he 
came  into  commission  he  has  been  eminently 
successful  in  keeping  our  boys  from  killing 
each  other." 

"  ^6g  pardon,"  said  Penryhn,  doubtfully, 
''your  I.R.P. ?" 

"Inspector  of  rifle  practice,"  explained 
Van,  adding,  "  Shouldn't  think  you  could 
have  afforded  to  waste  your  darkies  in  that 
fashion." 


106     FROM    r.KVOXD     THE    PVnAMTDS. 

"My  dear  fellow."  said  our  visitor,  in  a 
tone  of  tlie  dee[)est  disgust,  "  it  isn't  possible 
to  waste  an  Egyptian  soldier.  The  oidy 
Avaste  I  ean  think  of  is  that  of  the  powder 
and  lead  it  takes  to  Idow  liim  to — to  ob- 
livion." 

"  That  was  good  material  to  recruit  from," 
remarked  Stearns.  "  Didn't  you  feel  a  little 
shaky  about  going  out  with  it  ?  " 

'"  Tve  not  the  slightest  hesitation  in  admit- 
ting that  I  did,"'  replied  the  English  captain  ; 
"  and  just  before  we  started  on  our  iinal  ad- 
vance, 1  l)et  a  (liiuier  with  Major  Carroll 
that  if  we  got  into  a  tight,  our  black  regi- 
ments wouldn't  face  the  music  for  an  hour. 
It  Avasn't  a  bad  bet,  for  I  won  by  a  good, 
Avide  margin. 

^  Well,  on  the  fourth  of  Eebruary,  in  '84, 
we  marched  out  our  '  army  *  from  Trinkitat, 
waded  across  the  shallow  lagoon  to  the  main- 
land, and  struck  out  over  the  sands  for  Tokar 
—  twenty  miles  away.  You  think  that  y*ni 
have  done  rapid  work  to-day  in  fighting  a 
sham  battle  inside  half-a-dozen  hours,  but  ice 
made  a  record  that,  in  one  way,  is  incom- 
]iarablv  better  than  yours;  for  we  marched 
four   miles,    fought    just    fifteen    minutes  by 


FROM    BEYOND    THE    PYRAMIDS.     107 

my  bracelet  watch,  and  the  campaign  ended 
right  there  !     Can  you  equal  that,  eh  ?  " 

"  Blest  if  it  wasn't  hustling!  "  said  Stearns. 
"  You  had  pretty  nearl}'-  a  S(jft  thing  in  that 
bet  of  yours,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  It  wasn't  half  a  bad  speculation,"  replied 
Penryhn,  as  Sam  replaced  our  empties  by 
four  newly  filled  pewters.  "  Bah !  a  good 
part  of  our  fellows  couldn't  find  spirit  enough 
even  to  run,  and  stood  stock-still,  paralyzed 
with  fright,  until  they  were  cut  down  in 
their  tracks.  The  rest  of  'em  — and  the 
braver  ones  thei/  were  —  set  off  on  a  jog-trot 
for  Trinkitat,  going  just  fast  enough  to  afford 
gentle  exercise  to  the  cheerful  savages,  who 
trotted  along  after  them  and  carved  them  up 
at  their  leisure.  Ah,  perhaps  things  weren't 
in  a  devil  of  a  box  I  " 

"  I  judge  that  you  wasted  precious  little 
time  in  trying  to  rally  your  men,"  observed 
Stearns. 

"  On  that  point  your  judgment  is  very 
fair  indeed,"  returned  the  Englishman. 
"  Rallies  aren't  manufactured  out  of  that 
kind  of  rubbish.  I  much  sooner  should 
have  thought  of  attempting  to  catch  a  hurri- 
cane in  a  scoop-net.     Perhaps  if  Fd  been  on 


108     FROM    BEYOND     THE    PYRAMIDS. 

hand  at  the  first  break  I  might  have  had  a 
try  or  two  at  it,  but  it  so  hajipcned  tliat  I'd 
been  sent  Avith  a  liandful  of  native  cavalry  to 
.-.catter  a  buncii  of  liorsenicn  tlireatening'  our 
flank.  When  I  left  tlie  eolunin  on  this  er- 
rand, Baker  was  prejiaring  to  '  form  square.' 
but  the  Mahdi's  men  came  dancing  in  before 
he  liad  time  for  the  manreuvre,  and  when 
we  came  galloping  back  from  our  dash  the 
iiglit  was  ovrr  :  nnd,  as  I've  said,  fifteen 
minutes  had  l)eeii  time,  and  ample,  for  the 
winding  iip  of  that  campaign. 

"  It  was  a  very  rum  go,  and  I  refiected 
tliat,  under  all  the  circumstances,  I  might  as 
well  devote  my  time  and  attention  to  getting 
myself,  with  unpunctured  skin,  back  to 
Trinkitat.  However,  I  tliought  I'd  edge  in 
a  bit  towards  tlie  flying  rabble,  on  the  cliance 
of  falling  in  with  Carroll ;  and  so  I  spurred 
into  the  outskirts  of  the  mob  of  fright-crazed 
blacks.  As  luck  would  have  it,  I  ran  upon 
my  man  almost  immediately,  and  to  my 
dying  day  I  never  sliall  forget  how  lie  was 
busying  himself. 

"  You  may  think  it  absurd,  but  when  I 
rode  up  to  your  countryman  I  found  him 
holding   b_y    the    collar   an    i^gyptian   major, 


FBOM    BEYOyn     THE    PYRAMIDS.     109 

whom  he  was  spanking — j'es,  actually 
spmiking  !  —  with  the  flat  of  his  sword.  Af- 
fairs were  at  the  last  ditch  of  des[)eration, 
and  every  moment's  delay  brought  death  by 
so  much  the  closer  ;  and  j-et,  for  the  life  of 
me,  I  couldn't  help  laughing  at  the  sight. 
The  poor  major  was  bawling  and  sobbing 
with  pain  and  fright,  while  Carroll  was  lay- 
ing it  on  with  jolly  goodwill,  accompanying- 
each  whack  with  a  burst  of  transatlantic  pro- 
fanity which,  under  any  ordinary  circum- 
stances, would  have  made  me  shiver. 

"  But  I  hadn't  any  time  to  waste  in 
watching  performances  of  this  sort,  and  so  I 
rode  up  closer,  yelling,  '  Carroll !  Carroll.^ 
old  man,  are  you  mad  ?  You've  not  an  in- 
stant to  spare  I  The  black  devils  are  close 
upon  us!  Where's  your  horse?'  Carroll 
gave  two  more  resounding  whacks  to  his 
captive,  shook  him  until  his  teeth  rattled, 
and  then  set  him  free,  with  a  parting  kick  to 
speed  him  on  his  Avay  to  safety.  Then  he 
looked  up  at  me  with,  '  Hello,  Pen !  My 
horse  ?  That  mud-colored  major  —  I  hope 
they'll  lift  his  woolly  scalp!  —  he  sJiot  my 
horse  !  Pulled  his  revolver,  shut  both 
eyes,  blazed   away,  and  hit  poor  old  Selim. 


110     rnOM    nEY<)X[>     the    PYRA^fTT)S. 

I  swear,  Pen,  he  nearly  made  me  lose  my 
temper ! '  " 

"  AVere  3«)ur  native  ofticers  all  as  ellicient 
as  this  one  ? "  1  iiu^^uired,  after  we  had 
laughed  a  little  over  this  piece  of  marksman- 
ship. 

'*  Why,  conipareil  with  the  others,  he  Mas  a 
liero,''  said  Penryhn,  in  all  earnestness,  "for 
he  actually  fire(l  a  shot.  Most  of  'em  turned 
and  ran  Avithuul  e\en  stop})ing  to  pull  trig- 
ger. 

''  But  though  all  this  now  may  seem  fun]iy 
enough  in  the  telling,  the  humor  of  the  situ- 
ation wasn't  quite  so  apparent  theii,  for  the 
few  seconds  that  this  little  occurrence  had 
consumed  had  brought  danger  very  close  to 
us.  The  lialf-naked  Arabs  had  begun  to 
carve  their  way  right  into  the  heart  of  our 
stampeding  crowd,  and  from  my  seat  in  the 
saddle  I  could  see  them    netting   altoo'ether 

o  o  o 

too  neighborly  to  suit  my  ideas  of  comfort. 
'  Catch  hold  of  my  stirrup,'  I  said  to  Carroll, 
•and  come  along  out  of  tliis.'  He  sprang 
towards  me,  but  before  he  reached  my  side  a 
great  wiry  savage  came  tearing  through  the 
mob,  and  with  oue  sweep  of  his  long  sword 
hamstrung  ni}'  horse.     Probably  he  meant  to 


FROM    BEYOND     THE    PYRAMIDS.     Ill 

liave  taken  a  shy  next  at  me,  but  he  lost  the 
chance,  for  Carroll  plumped  a  bullet  into  his 
neck,  and  he  went  tumbling  do^yn  all  of  a 
heap.  All  that,  though,  was  cold  comfort ; 
for  there  we  were,  on  foot,  and  with  an}- 
odds  you  please  against  our  getting  out  of 
the  scrape  alive. 

"  '  The  game's  up,  old  fellow,'  said  I,  clear- 
ing myself  from  my  struggling  horse.  '  Come 
up  here  to  me,  and  so  long  as  our  ammuni- 
tion lasts  well  fight  it  out,  back  to  back.' 
Our  chances  seemed  so  desperate,  you  see, 
that  I  didn't  give  even  a  thought  to  esca[)e, 
'  The  hell  we  will ! '  responded  Carroll,  whose 
language  somehow  seemed  unnecessarily  lu- 
rid, '  I  guess  not/  Pick  uj)  your  heels.  Pen, 
and  make  a  scramble  for  it.  We  can  fight 
just  as  well  running  as  we  can  standing  still.' 

"  At  the  word  he  started  off,  and  I  followed 
him,  for  though  death  seemed  inevitable  I 
didn't  have  quite  the  courage  to  stay  and 
face  it  alone.  'It's  no  sort  of  use,'  I  panted, 
as  we  ran  along  side  hy  side  ;  '  we  can't  foot 
it  for  four  miles  over  this  sand  — -  in  our  boots, 
too  —  and  get  clear  of  those  naked  desert- 
devils.' 

"  '  Well,  who's  going  to  ? '  was  the  answer 


112    Fno^^  beyond   the  PYnA^^^)s. 

I  got.  Carroll  liad  looked  over  Lis  slioulder, 
and  catcliino-  h;i'>lit  of  a  camel  A\liieli,  urired 
on  by  a  Soudanese,  was  lumbering  down  uj!oii 
us,  be  baited  and  taced  about.  'Hi!  you 
black  ,sou-of-the-Xile,'  lie  shouted,  'bold  u[il 
i  ou  'tvnn't/''  be  AW'ut  on,  bringing  iq>  bis 
revolver,  and  roaring  out  bis  command  in 
Arabic.  'Take  tliat,  tlien!'  and  be  liied 
twice.  The  first  sbot  was  a  clc;in  miss,  l);it 
at  tbe  second  tbe  poor  cbap  rolled  over  and 
dropped  headlong  upon  tbe  sand,  wliile  Car- 
roll jumped  to  catch  tbe  riderless  camel. 
'  Hold  him  by  tbe  nose  I '  I  yelled,  '  tliafs  tbe 
only  ^vay  you  can  manage  him  I  '  '  Z^v  got 
bini,'  be  sang  out  in  reply,  as  be  caught  tbe 
dangling  cord.  'Whoa!  you  luimp-backed 
beast  of  misery!  Hi!  Steady,  you  four- 
legged,  graceful  nightmare!  How  in  blazes, 
Pen,  can  we  make  him  kneel  ?  ' 

"  Well,  bow  did  you?"  incpiired  A^an,  re- 
moving bis  pipe  from  between  bis  teeth  in 
order  to  ask  tbe  (juestion. 

"We  simply  didn't,''  said  the  Englishman, 
blowing  forth  a  mighty  volume  of  fragrant 
smoke,  and  following  tliis  up  with  w  succession 
of  sliort  puffs,  "  because  neither  of  us  knew  the 
trick.     '  He  looks  higher   than  a  bouse,'  said 


FROM    BEYOXn    THE    PYRAMIDS.     113 

I,  as  I  stood  helplessly  l^eside  the  ungainl}' 
animal, '  but  we've  got  to  scale  him  somehow.' 
'  Here,  hold  his  head,'  said  Carroll,  '  and  I'll 
make  a  bluif  at  mounting  him,'  and  then, 
after  we  had  exchanged  places,  he  sprang  up, 
caught  at  some  part  or  other  of  the  camel's 
trappings,  and  managed  to  haul  liimself  up. 
'  Pass  up  the  lines,  Pen,  and  look  lively,'  he 
called  out.  '  Old  Humpty's  getting  uneasy 
—  and  so  am  I.  Give  me  your  hand,  and 
climb  as  if  the  Mahdi  himself  were  after 
you  !  '  I  tossed  him  the  rein,  and  started  to 
follow  him  up,  but  the  minute  I  released  the 
cameFs  liead  the  terrified  beast  lunged  for- 
ward, knocking  me  over  like  a  ninepin,  and 
when  I  got  to  my  feet  again  he  was  fifty 
yards  away  —  and  going  like  a  race-horse. 

"  '  Clean  bowled  ! '  I  muttered,  as  I  realized 
what  had  happened.  '  He  can't  manage  him, 
so  my  last  chance  is  played,'  and  with  a 
farewell  glance  at  Carroll's  recediuQ-  figure 
I  faced  towards  the  desert  —  the  direction 
from  which  I  knew  my  death  was  on  its  way 
to  me  —  drew  my  revolver,  filled  an  empty 
chamber  in  it,  cocked  it,  and  waited  for  the 
end. 

"  All  around  me  the  rush  of  terror-stricken 


114     FRO^f    BEYONB    THE    PYnA^fTI)S!. 

blacks  continued,  wliile  in  front,  and  not  far 
aAvay,  I  could  catch  the  (lash  and  gleam  of  steel 
Avhen  some  Arab  bntclier  hove  his  sword  up 
into  the  air,  to  brinu;'  it  whistling  down  u[)()n 
one  of  our  defenceless  darkies.  Frightened  / 
Yes,  I  Avas  in  a  blue  fuidc.  but  it  was  the 
sort  of  fear  tliat  has  a  good  sliare  of  ugliness 
in  it,  and  I  shut  my  teeth  down  and  watched 
out  f(ir  some  one  to  kill. 

"  In  a  iix  like  that  a  little  time  goes  a  long- 
way,  and  it  seemed  as  though  I  had  been 
standing  there  for  hours  —  though  probably 
it  was  a  matter  of  but  minutes  —  when  a 
long,  missluipen  shadow  darkened  the  sand 
beside  me,  and  I  heard  a  voiee  shouting, 
'  Quick,  Pen,  for  your  life  !  Your  hand,  old 
chap- — //'>i(r  iiiokJ !  I  ean"t  control  this 
felloAV  nuich  longer!'  It  was  Carroll  —  the 
blessed,  profane  old  angel !  —  wlio  had  worked 
some  Yankee  miracle  with  that  camel,  and 
had  come  back  to  pick  me  out  of  the  wreek. 

"  Without  a  word,  fm-  seconds  were  pre- 
cious then,  I  thrust  my  revolver  into  my  belt 
—  not  the  most  careful  thing  I  could  have 
done,  considering  that  it  was  full-cocked  — 
and  by  a  desperate  bit  of  scrambling  got  up 
behind  my  rescuer.     C)l'f  started  the   camel, 


FBOM    r.F.YON'D    THE    PYRAMTDS;.     115 

stretched  out  at  top-speed,  swaying*  from 
side  to  side,  and  plunging  and  rising  like  a 
troop-ship  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  while  we 
two  fugitives  clung  to  whatever  we  could 
lay  hands  upon.  But  it  was  comforting  to 
note  the  rate  at  which  he  took  himself  over 
the  sand,  and  I  actually  began  to  pluck  up  a 
trifle." 

"  Then  you  didn't  complain  of  your  ac- 
commodations,"' remarked  Stearns,  sugges- 
tively. 

"I?  No,  I  wouldn't  have  minded  being 
tossed  in  a  blanket  if  each  toss  had  sent  me 
away  from  Osman  Digna's  sweating  savages. 

"  Well,  we  hung  on  like  monkeys,  and  after 
a  time  became  used  to  tlie  jolting.  Finally 
Carroll  turned  his  liead  and  said,  '  You  all 
right.  Pen  ? ' 

"  '  Yes  ;  and  you  ?  '  said  I. 

"  '  Happy  as  a  hoo-poo,'  said  he  ;  '  but  I've 
got  all  I  can  do  to  steer.  You'll  have  to  do 
the  shooting,  old  man  ;  and  when  your  gun 
goes  diy  you'll  find  two  shots  left  in  mine. 
Help  youi'self  to  it,  if  you  need  it.' 

"Now,  I'm  quite  certain  that  I  couldn't 
have  hit  a  bungalow,  under  the  circumstances, 
but  I  piped  up  cheerfully  with,  '  All  right ; 


116     FROM    BE  VOX/)    THE    PYRAMIDS. 

you  keep  your  eye  out  for  'J'riiikilat,  and  I'll 
'tend  to  matters  at  tliis  end.' 

''Luckily  I  didn't  have  to  experiment  at 
holding  on  with  one  hand  and  shooting  with 
the  other,  iov  dur  long-legged  mount  held  his 
gait  nobly,  and  took  us  into  Trinkitat,  sound 
and  safe,  and  at  sueh  a  rale  of  gt»ing  that  we 
weren't  ]iiuch  beliind  ]>;iker  and  those  of  his 
staff  who  had  escaped  Avith  him."" 

"  Hni  !  that  was  a  near  call,  Captain  Pen- 
ryhn,"  observed  Van  Sickles. 

"  I  certaiidy  thought  so  at  the  time,"  said 
the  Englishman,  shifting  his  jjosition  in  his 
chair,  "and  V\q  seen  no  cause  since  to 
change  my  o])inion.  Carroll  affected  to 
make  light  of  the  whole  affair,  though,  and 
declared  that  we  could  have  got  away  on 
foot;  and  to  prove  it,  he  brouglit  up  the 
case  of  his  Egyptian  major,  who  actually 
managed  to  escape."' 

"  No  !  Really  ?  "  asked  Stearns.  ''  I  should 
hope  that  lie  and  Carroll  didn't  meet  after- 
wards." 

"  But  they  did,"  said  Penryhn,  with  an 
expansive  grin.  "  Oh,  yes,  they  met  —  and 
it  was  a  funny  meeting,  too.  Carroll  Avalked 
right    up    to  his    man,  grabbed    him  by   the 


FROM    BEYOND     THE    PYRAMIDS.     117 

hand,  and  congratulated  hira  on  his  escape. 
And  then  he  apologized  for  his  conduct,  and 
said  that  he  felt  compelled  to  give  satisfaction 
for  it;  wherefore  he  would  meet  the  ag- 
grieved Egyptian  whenever  and  wherever  he 
might  choose,  and  would  fight  him  in  what- 
ever way  he  might  be  pleased  to  suggest. 
But  this  generous  offer  was  too  much  for  our 
native  friend,  and  with  a  profusion  of  thanks 
truly  Oriental  he  declined  it,  even  going  so 
far  as  to  declare  that  the  slapping  he  had 
undergone  at  the  hands  of  the  ever-noble 
and  beneficent  Carroll  —  '  might  his  illus- 
trious line  long  be  permitted  to  continue  ! ' 
—  without  doubt  had  saved  his  life,  since  it 
had  been  the  means  of  spurring  him  on  to  a 
magnificent  and  gloriously  maintained  dash 
for  safety.  And  so  that  matter  ended  hap- 
pily and  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned." 

At  this  point  the  colonel  came  over  to  our 
corner  and  carried  away  Penryhn  to  show 
him  the  photographs  of  our  field-work  of  the 
previous  year.  Stearns  got  up  and  went 
with  them,  leaving  Van  and  me  to  smoke  in 
comfort  and  exchange  at  our  leisure  oui 
views  of  things  in  general.     Now,  that  man 


118     FROM    BEYOND     THE    PYRAMIDS. 

Van  Sickles  is  a  sceptical  sort  of  jjcrson, 
and  he  began  to  question  the  probability  of 
the  Englishman's  story  ;  but  I  maintained, 
as  I  still  do,  that  it  must  have  been  true  — 
for  I'm  myself  something  of  a  liar,  and  it's 
hard  work  for  a  brother-prevaricator  to  take 
me  into  camp.  So  I  tell  you  the  yarn  in  the 
full  confidence  that  it  is  a  true  one  ;  and  I 
further  will  remark  that  last  spring  Pen- 
ryhn  sent  over  to  Stearns  an  Arab  shield, 
together  with  half  a  dozen  villainous,  iron- 
bound  spears  and  a  couple  of  long,  straight, 
nastydooking  swords,  all  of  which  things 
now  may  be  seen  up  in  The  Battery,  where 
we've  arranged  them  upon  the  wall,  above 
the  big  book-case. 


THE   HYMN  THAT  HELPED 


THE   HYMN   THAT   HELPED. 


I 


T  was  a  warm  night,  late  in  May.  For 
two  Ion  Of  hours  the  battalion  steadily 
had  kept  at  it  —  ploying  into  column, 
deploying  again  into  line,  and  varying  things 
by  an  occasional  march,  in  company  front, 
around  the  great  hall.  But  there  comes  an 
end  to  all  things,  even  to  a  two  hours'  tramp 
over  an  unyielding  floor,  and  at  last  the 
bugler,  standing  beneath  the  crowded  specta- 
tors' gallery,  puckered  his  lips,  puffed  out  his 
cheeks,  and  blew  the  welcome  bars  of  "  Re- 
call "  —  the  signal  that  it  was  ten  o'clock  and 
time  to  wind  up  the  evening's  drill.  One  by 
one  the  companies  filed  out  through  the  broad 
doorway,  and  as  the  last  man  passed  over  the 
threshold  —  even  while  the  closing  notes  of 
the  bugle-call  still  faintly  rang  among  the 
arching  trusses  of  the  vaulted  roof  —  the 
waiting  armorer  pressed  down  the  lever 
which,  at   a   single  touch,  extinguished   the 


122  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

liofhts  in  the  doable  row  of  chandeliers,  and 
left  the  drill-hall  to  silence  and  darkness. 

But  if  all  was  dark  and  still  in  the  hall 
below,  upstairs  the  state  of  affairs  was  in 
lively  contrast,  for  in  the  company  quarters 
there  was  lig-ht  in  plenty  and  the  hum  of 
many  voices,  while  presently  a  yell  of  laugh- 
ter from  "  K's  "  rooms,  followed  by  a  respon- 
sive roar  from  "  A*s "  corner,  across  the 
corridor,  seemed  to  show  that  the  manoeuvres 
of  the  evening  had  not  brought  the  men  to 
the  point  of  complete  exhaustion. 

About  the  adjutant's  desk,  in  the  staff-room, 
a  knot  of  officers  had  gathered  to  talk  over 
the  night's  work,  and  speculate  upon  the 
weather  of  the  morrow,  for  it  was  the  night 
before  Memorial  Day,  and  the  four  companies 
detailed  for  escort  duty  in  the  coming  parade 
had  been  going  through  a  battalion  drill,  "  To 
get  shaken  into  shape  for  exhibition  pur- 
poses," as  the  major  put  it. 

"  The  boys  measured  off  a  good  step  to- 
night :  thirty  elegant  inches,  within  an 
eighth,"  said  the  adjutant,  footing  up  the 
last  column  of  the  drill  report,  and  then 
gracing  it  with  his  undecipherable  signature. 
•'  Yes,  they  stretched  it  out  in  gorgeous  style, 


TUE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  123 

and  the  last  time  they  came  'round  the  hall 
the  company  wheels  were  just  as  pretty  as 
any  you  ever  saw  on  a  little,  red  wagon." 
This  was  in  the  days  when  Upton  yet  was 
law  in  the  land ;  before  the  "  new  regula- 
tions "  had  come  to  vex  the  souls  of  company 
commanders. 

"  That's  all  well  enough,"  remarked  the 
major  who  was  to  command  the  battalion 
next  day  ;  "  but,  after  all,  we're  at  the  mercy 
of  whatever  band  we  catch.  It  was  a  mistake 
to  let  ours  go  out  of  town  for  to-morrow." 

"  It  iva8  so,"  assented  the  adjutant,  shoving 
a  handful  of  documents  into  the  pigeon-hole 
labelled  "  Papers  awaiting  action,"  and  then, 
rising  from  his  desk,  "  Do  you  know  what 
band's  been  assigned  ?  " 

"  Haven't  heard,"  replied  the  major,  with  a 
yawn.  "  J  wouldn't  ask  for  any  better  march- 
ing music  than  the  article  the  drum-corps 
deals  out.  The  boys  swing  along  like  ma- 
chines, when  they  have  the  old  tunes  to  set 
'em  going ;  "  and  he  began  to  whistle  "  The 
British  Grenadier,"  drumming  with  his  fin- 
gers an  accompaniment  to  the  inspiring,  old 
refrain,  but  stopping  when  the  sergeant-major 
entered  and  said,  "  The  colonel  presents  his 


124  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

compliments,  and  wishes  tlie  tield  and  staff  to 
report  to  him  in  his  room.  " 

"  Come  along,  fellows,"  said  the  major,  but- 
toning np  his  fatigue  jacket.  "  This  means 
an  expedition  against  The  Battery,"  and  with 
this  safe  prediction  he  led  the  way  along  the 
corridor  towards  the  door  which  bore  upon 
its  oaken  panel  the  words  "Colonel,  Third 
Infantry."' 

"  Come  in,"  sang  out  the  colonel,  as  the 
group  of  olHcers  reached  his  door,  "  come  in 
for  a  minute.  I  need  your  advice.  Only  four 
of  3^ou  ?     Why,  where's  '  Pay  '  ?  " 

The  major  replied,  "■  He's  escaped,  sir,  but 
those  of  us  who  are  left  are  very  much  at 
your  service  —  and  full  of  advice." 

"  No  doubt  of  it,"  laughed  the  colonel ; 
"  I've  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  it.  That's 
where  the  officer  of  volunteers  never  is  found 
lacking.  I've  yet  to  meet  the  one  who's  not 
prepared  to  give  advice  on  any  matter,  and  at 
a  minute's  notice,  too.  Well,  now  for  that 
same  advice  :  do  you  counsel  an  immediate 
and  early  scattering,  or  a  brief  visit  to  the 
dominions  of  Sam  ?  Weigh  your  words,  for 
I've  determined  to  be  guided  to-night  by  the 
wishes  of  tlie  majority." 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  125 

"I  haven't  attained  a  'majority' — as  yet, 
sir,"  said  the  adjutant,  speaking  rapidly  and 
bednninor  to  unbuckle  his  belt ;  "but  with  due 
deference  to  my  seniors,  I  would  state  that 
the  evening  has  been  long,  warm,  and  very 
arid ;  enough  so  to  reduce  some  of  us  —  one 
I  can  swear  to  —  to  a  state  bordering  upon 
collapse.  I  therefore  most  respectfully  would 
suggest  that  The  Battery  be  converted  tem- 
porarily into  a  field-hospital,  and  that  Major 
Sawin,  surgeon,  Third  Infantry,  be  ordered 
to  proceed  thither  without  delay,  to  make 
provision  for  such  patients  as  later  may 
report  to  him  for  treatment." 

"  Listen  to  the  boy  !  "  said  the  colonel,  as 
the  adjutant  paused  for  lack  of  breath. 
"  And  nobody  has  any  better  advice  to 
offer  ? "  he  went  on.  "  Well,  Bones,  you 
heard?  Trot  along — you're  not  in  uniform 
—  and  start  Sam  on  a  bowl  of  claret-cup. 
The  rest  of  us  will  join  you  in  ten  minutes." 

"  I  think  ril  do  the  .compounding,"  said 
the  surgeon,  mentally  recalling  a  formula  of 
his  earlier  days,  "and  if  the  results  aren't 
satisfactory  —  why,  I'll  resign  and  give  Wil- 
der his  step ; "  and  he  turned  towards  the 
door,  pausing  to   remark.   "  Don't   overheat 


126  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

yourselves  by  hurrying,  for  I'm  going  to 
take  my  time  in  getting  there." 

The  ten  minutes  had  stretched  well  along 
towards  twenty,  when  an  uneven  trampling 
of  feet  upon  The  Battery's  stairs  warried  the 
waiting  surgeon  that  liis  patients  were  at 
hand.  He  had  employed  his  time  to  good 
purpose,  howL'ver,  and  in  the  arrangement 
of  his  "  field-hospital "  there  lacked  nothing 
which  long  experience  could  suggest. 

Before  the  wide  dormer-window  —  in  which 
every  sash  had  been  thrown  open  to  catch 
whatever  of  breeze  might  stray  that  way  — 
stood  a  round  table,  bearing  a  huge  glass 
pitcher,  filled  to  the  brim  with  crimson 
claret-cup,  and  beaded  with  the  dew  of  its 
icy  contents.  Five  heavy  chairs  were  ranged 
near  at  hand,  and  to  each  a  glass  was  allotted, 
while  beside  every  glass  lay  a  newly  filled 
pipe,  ready  for  the  lighting.  Save  one  shaded 
lamp,  all  the  lights  were  out,  to  give  full 
play  to  the  bright  moonlight  which  came 
slanting  in  through  the  casement,  tracing 
curious  patterns  of  light  and  shadow  upon 
the  floor  and  walls.  All  looked  cool  and 
restful,  and  the  surgeon  gave  just  one  more 
satisfied   glance   at   his   preparations    before 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  127 

turning  to  receive  his  wearied  brothers-in- 
arms. 

"  This  way  to  the  operating-table,"  he 
called  out,  as  the  door  was  flung  open. 
"  The  instruments  are  ready,  and  the  sur- 
geon is  waiting.  I  shall  make  no  diagnosis 
in  individual  cases  —  since  it  is  apparent  that 
your  ailment  has  reached  the  proportions  of 
an  epidemic  —  but  shall  treat  you  collect- 
ively." 

"  Bones,  you  deserve  to  be  thanked  '  in 
orders,'  "  said  the  colonel  impressively,  after 
a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  surroundings. 
"Sit  down,  all — and  Charley,  you  man  the 
pitcher." 

"  I  chose  a  pitcher  in  preference  to  a 
bowl,"  explained  the  beaming  doctor,  wav- 
ing his  hand  in  the  direction  of  that  seduc- 
tive-looking vessel,  "  because  the  effect  upon 
the  eye  is  so  much  more  pleasing.  I  tell 
you,  the  careful  practitioner  has  to  watch 
out  for  even  the  most  trifling  details." 

A  clatter  of  chairs  followed  this  remark, 
succeeded  by  the  musical  tinkle  of  ice,  as 
the  adjutant  filled  the  glasses.  Then  came 
a  moment  of  refreshing  silence  ;  and  finally 
five    grateful    men    set    down   their   empty 


128  THE    HYMN    THAT    TIELPED. 

tumblers  with  a  universal,  long-drawn  sigh 
of  comfort  and  supreme  content. 

"  Wilder  will  not  get  his  step  this  time." 
said  the  colonel,  holding  his  glass  in  readi- 
ness for  refilling,  "  for  your  reputation,  Bones, 
is  saved." 

"  Your  appreciation  touches  me,"  replied 
the  surgeon,  leaning  forward  to  possess  him- 
self of  a  pipe,  an  example  followed  by  the 
others.  One  after  another  the  matches 
cracked  and  llamed.  until  five  corn-cobs 
glowed  soothingly  in  the  dim,  half-light  of 
the  quiet  room,  sending  a  pale  cloud  of 
fragrant  smoke  adrift  across  the  moonbeams, 
to  twist  and  circle  in  the  fitful  current  of 
air  from  the  open  casement. 

"  With  the  brigade  band,  which  you'll 
have  to-morrow,"  observed  the  colonel,  be- 
tween puffs,  to  the  major,  "you  ought  to 
go  '  swinging  on  the  old,  old  gait.'  " 

"  So  it's  to  be  the  brigade  band  ?  "  said  the 
major.  "  Good  enough !  Just  before  we 
left  the  armory  we  were  discussing  our 
chances  on  music." 

"  Well,  music  is  rather  important,"  re- 
turned the  colonel,  "  for  a  good  band  can 
put    life    into    the    lamest    column.     I    once 


THE    HYMN    TUAT    HELPED.  129 

even  knew  a  band  to  put  life  into  a  dead 
man,  too.     Fact !  " 

"  Extraordinary  !  "  murmured  the  major. 
"  I've  heard  plenty  of  bands  bad  enough  to 
strike  a  man  dead,  but  I  never  happened  to 
discover  one  that  seemed  quite  up  to  the 
resurrection  pitch.  Perhaps,  Colonel,  you'll 
tell  us  about  it  ?  " 

"  I'm  blessed  if  I  don't,"  was  the  colonel's 
reply  to  this  suggestion,  "  if  for  nothing  else 
than  punishment  for  the  doubt  implied  in 
your  tone." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  major  politely, 
bestowing  his  lazy  length  upon  the  cushions 
of  the  window-seat,  where  he  settled  himself 
in  all  comfort.  "  It's  a  good  long  time  since 
we've  had  a  yarn  from  you,  and  I'm  pleased 
to  learn  that  we're  in  a  fair  way  to  get  you 
started." 

This  judicious  remark  was  not  without  its 
effect,  for  the  chief  pulled  the  major's  empty 
chair  handily  near,  gently  deposited  his  feet 
upon  it,  and  observed,  "  Well,  if  I've  told 
you  this  incident  at  all,  I'm  sure  it  hasn't 
been  within  a  year,  so  it  will  be  as  good  as 
new."  Then  he  turned  his  head  and  called, 
"  Sam,  come  and  put  out  that  lamp,"  adding. 


130  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

''  Moonlight's  good  enough  for  story-telling 
—  and  somehow  lamplight  makes  a  discord 
on  a  night  like  this." 

"Got  ev'rytliin'  handy,  Cun'l  ? ""  inquired 
Sam,  as  the  flame  flickered  and  went  out. 

"  Yes,  everything  except  //on.,"'  responded 
the  commanding  officer.  "  Pull  up  a  chair, 
Sam,  and  kindle  your  disreputable  old  briar- 
wood  ;  for  I'm  going  to  yarn  about  a  shindy 
in  which  your  battery  trumj^ed  the  winning 
trick,  and  I  shall  need  your  corroborative 
testimony." 

Sam  brought  a  chair,  seated  himself  with 
proper  deliberation,  and  added  his  contribu- 
tion to  the  ever-thickening  cloud  of  smoke ; 
those  whose  glasses  stood  in  need  of  refilling 
took  tlie  precautions  necessary  to  avert  a 
drought ;  and  the  colonel,  hxing  his  eyes 
upon  tlie   cloudless  sky  without,  began  : 

"  Back  in  '64  — a  matter  of  a  fortnight  or 
so  before  that  little  affair  at  Tlu-ee  Mile 
Creek,  where  you,  Sam,  got  scraped  across 
the  wrist,  and  won  that  medal  of  yours  — 
the  '  Old  Regiment '  found  itself  at  a  most 
forsaken  sort  of  place  which  was  going  to 
ruin  under  the  name  of  Ashford  Four  Cor- 
ners.    Why  we   had  been   dumped  down  in 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  131 

that  particular  spot  we  neither  knew  nor 
greatly  cared,  for  we  had  reached  a  point 
in  soldierly  indifference  which  enabled  us 
to  take  our  billet  unquestioningly,  though 
not  always  uncomplainingly.  Even  old 
Burleigh,  our  colonel,  hadn't  a  very  definite 
conception  of  our  exact  errand,  for  he  told 
us  that  we  had  been  ordered  to  sit  down, 
keep  our  eyes  open,  and  stay  there  until 
we  were  sent  for,  —  an  order  which,  at  the 
time,  seemed  easy  of  execution,  though 
rather  purposeless. 

''  With  all  due  pomp  and  circumstance  we 
marched  into  and  through  Ashford  Four 
Corners,  and  took  up  a  position  about  half 
a  mile  beyond  the  straggling  collection  of 
tumble-down  buildings  composing  that 
metropolis ;  and  there  we  prepared  to  '  sit 
down,'  as  per  orders,  and  'keep  our  eyes 
open'  to  see  that  nothing  came  along  over 
a  sandy  road  running  off,  in  a  southeasterly 
direction,  into  the  dense  woods  in  our  front." 

"Wal,  'twarnt  sich  a  bad  idee,  havin'  ye 
thar,"  observed  Sam,  between  puffs,  "  an'  I 
guess  ye  seen  th'  reason  for't,  finally." 

"  Oh,  yes,  the  reason  made  itself  un- 
pleasantly obvious  later,"   assented  the  col- 


132  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

onel ;  "  but  along  at  tlie  first  we  were  rather 
pleased  at  being  sent  off  and  —  as  we  thought 
—  side-tracked,  for  we  hadn't  the  slightest 
expectation  of  seeing  or  hearing  anything 
from  the  enemy.  No,  we  certainly  weren't 
grumbling  much  over  the  detail,  for  we'd 
had  a  hot  and  trying  time  of  it  for  ten  days 
hand-running,  and  the  prospect  of  even  a 
few  hours  of  rest  and  quiet  seemed  at- 
tractive. 

"  But  thouofh  we  weren't  looking  for 
trouble,  we'd  '  been  in  tlie  business '  too 
long  to  take  anything  for  granted,  and  so 
we  had  a  turn  at  pick-and-shovel  drill,  and 
threw  up  a  very  workmanlike  line  of  breast- 
works, neatly  topped- off  with  logs  ;  and  after 
the  earth  had  been  heaped  up  and  patted 
down  we  surveyed  the  result  of  our  labors, 
called  it  good,  and  waited  patiently  to  see  if 
anybody  would  blunder  along  that  way  to 
help  us  in  a  house-warming. 

"  In  billiards  '■  position  is  everything,'  "  the 
colonel  observed,  after  a  short  pause  to  ob- 
tain necessary  restoratives,  "  and  the  same 
rule  applies  in  war.  Our  position,  as  we  lay 
at  ease  in  our  hastily  constructed  works,  was 
fairly  good.     If  I  had  the  blackboard  here 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  133 

I  could  show  you,  iu  ten  strokes  of  the  challi, 
just  how  the  land  lay ;  but  the  blackboard 
isn't  here,  and,  moreover,  I  should  be  too 
lazy  to  lift  the  chalk  if  it  were  here  ;  and 
therefore  I'll  state  that  our  line  was  estab- 
lished across  the  tapering  end  of  a  fan-shaped 
clearing,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  both 
flanks  were  protected  by  dense  woods,  while 
on  our  left  an  impenetrable  swamp  afforded 
us  additional  security.  The  open  ground  in 
our  front  stretched  away  for  a  distance  of 
about  five  hundred  yards,  ending  at  the  edge 
of  the  unbroken  forest.  Do  I  make  clear 
the  situation  ?  " 

"  Perfectly,  sir,"  said  the  adjutant,  rattling 
the  ice  in  the  pitcher,  by  way  of  serving 
notice  that  he  stood  ready  to  fill  any  or  all 
depleted  glasses. 

"'Twas  a  good  'nough  lay-out  for  in- 
f'ntry,"  commented  Sam,  "  but  thar  warn't 
quite  th'  right  slope  t'  git  th'  best  work  out 
o'  guns." 

"  I  daresay  not,"  said  the  colonel,  in  reply 
to  this  bit  of  criticism,  "  but  your  guns  were 
able  to  accomplish  all  that  we  asked,  eh  ? 
By  the  way,  did  you  ever  get  a  position  that 
suited  your  exacting  taste  ?  " 


134        riiK  JIV^rx   that  iielpet). 

"Wal,  vis,"'  roiiiarked  Sam,  after  an  in- 
stant of  meditation,  '•'•seems  like  we  did  once 
—  at  :\ralvem  Hill.  We  bed  jest  tli'  right 
drop,  tliar,  an'  tmr  plungiir  tire  out  out  work 
tliet  warn't  far  from  bein'  plain  butchery." 

"  After  we'd  got  settled,"  resumed  the 
colonel,  ''we  began  to  look  about  for  amuse- 
ment; but  the  •  Four  Coi'uers'  didn't  seem  to 
afford  much  in  that  line,  and  so  most  of  us 
put  in  our  time  at  making  up  lost  sleep,  and 
we  certainly  might  have  found  less  prolitable 
employment.  Of  course  we  sent  out  forag- 
ing parties,  but  the  few  unhappy  hens  that 
fell  into  their  hands  didn't  go  far  towards 
making  chicken  salad  for  four  lunidred 
hungry  ]nen,  and  so  we  fell  back  upon  our 
usual  healthful  diet  of  hard-tack  and  'salt 
horse.'  Lord!  what  wouldn't  I  have  given 
for  a  bottle  of  cold  beer,  or  a  pitclier  of 
this  blessed  mixture,"  and  the  chief,  moved 
by  the  recollection  of  past  privations,  emp- 
tied his  half-lilled  glass  at  a.  single  swallow. 

The  watchful  adjutant  promptly  made 
good  the  deficiency  in  his  superior's  tumbler, 
and  then  did  himself  a  like  kindness  :  Van 
Sickles,  who  qiiietly  had  been  smoking  in  a 
shadow}'  corner,  rose,  stretclied  himself,  and 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  135 

flung  himself  down  upon  the  end  of  the 
window-seat  opposite  the  major ;  and  then 
the  colonel  —  just  as  the  cit}^  clocks  began 
to  strike  eleven  — ■  went  on,  "  Up  to  night- 
fall there  had  been  no  developments,  and 
when  we  bundled  ourselves  up  in  our  blan- 
kets, after  posting  pickets,  it  was  wdth  a 
comfortable  feeling  that  we  were  in  for  a 
quiet  night. 

"I'd  been  officer  of  the  g^uard  the  nio-ht 
before,  and  probably  I  don't  need  to  say  how 
soundly  I  fell  asleep.  But  when,  along 
towards  morning,  a  shot  rang  out  from  some- 
where in  the  darkness  beyond,  followed  by 
another,  and  then  by  two  or  three  in  quick 
succession  —  why,  I  came  rolling  out  of  my 
blankets  in  almiglity  short  order,  and  it 
didn't  take  an  alarm-clock  to  tell  me  that  it 
was  time  to  be  getting  up.  Well,  the  long  roll 
sounded,  the  regiment  fell  in,  and  presently 
in  came  the  pickets  to  report  the  enemy  in 
our  front. 

"  By  this  time  the  night  was  pretty  well 
along,  and  the  first  hazy  light  of  the  new  day 
was  beginning  to  come;  but  there  wasn't 
quite  enough  of  it  to  show  us  what  was  going 
on  across  the  clearing,  and  so  we  threw  out 


136  THE    IIYMX    THAT    HELPED. 

skirmi-shers  into  the  woods  on  either  Hank, 
and  waited  for  the  next  number  on  the  pro- 
gramme. For  a  good  half-hour  we  stood 
there,  behind  the  breastworks,  without  being 
able  to  detect  a  movement  in  our  front;  and 
I  —  believinn;  the  whole  thin^  due  to  an 
attack  of  '  nerves  '  —  had  begun  to  try  what 
satisfaction  I  could  Q-et  from  damniiiGf  the 
eyes  and  ears  of  the  pickets  who  had  spoiled 
my  beauty-sleep,  when  Bob  Sheldon,  my 
captain,  touched  my  arm,  and  silently  pointed 
out  towards  the  clearing. 

"  Now,  all  this  time  the  light  had  been 
gathering  strength,  and  though  it  still  was  too 
dim  to  enable  us  easily  to  distinguish  objects 
at  any  distance,  I  yet  could  make  out  what 
seemed  to  be  a  line  of  skirmishers,  slowly 
moving  up  towards  us.  A  second  glance 
told  me  that  my  eyes  had  not  deceived  me, 
and  I  turned  towards  Sheldon,  with,  ^  My 
apologies  to  the  pickets.  I  damned  'em  too 
hastily,  for  we're  to  have  company  at  break- 
fast, surer  than  gosj^el.'  '  Yes  ;  them's  them,' 
said  Bob,  'but  not  all  of  'em.  I'd  give  a 
j^ipeful  of  plug  to  know  what's  hidden  over 
there  in  the  woods.'  '  AVhere'd  be  the  fun 
in   that?'  I  inquired,  stooping    over   to  rub 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  137 

my  knee,  which  had  stiffened  up  a  trifle 
during  the  night.  'If  we  knew  wliat  was 
coming,  the  chances  are  tliat  we'd  leg  it ; 
and  then  what  woukl  become  of  the  reputa- 
tions we've  been  so  long  in  building  up  ?  ' 

"  I  straightened  up,  as  I  spoke,  and  again 
peered  over  the  crest  of  the  breastwork,  dis- 
covering that  the  advancing  line  had  halted 
about  two  hundred  yards  from  us,  evidently 
without  any  great  ambition  to  attempt  a 
closer  investigation ;  for  at  this  stage  in  the 
war,  you  must  understand,  both  the  Con- 
federates and  we  had  learned  to  think  twice 
before  intruding  upon  a  force  well  entrenched. 
These  fellows,  however,  didn't  get  much  time 
to  ponder  on  the  situation,  for  we  gave  them 
a  volley  which  sent  them  to  the  rear  again, 
though  they  retired  slowly,  and  fired  as  they 
fell  back."  "^ 

"  About  as  my  skirmishers  did  last  Octo- 
ber," said  the  major,  half  to  himself,  as  he 
recalled  an  episode  of  the  regiment's  latest 
engagement. 

"  Yes ;  exactly  as  your  men  did,"  said 
the  chief,  catching  this  remark,  "with  this 
exception :  your  boys  all  went  back,  but 
when  this  line  gave  ground  it  left  three  poor 


138  THE    HYMX    THAT    HELPED. 

devils  lying  motionless  in  the  damp  grass. 
Ah,  yes ;  a  'Fall  Drill'  would  lio  very  like 
a  real  fight  —  if  it  weren't  mj  different,"'  and 
he  paused  t^  liven  up  his  pipe  by  a  few  quick, 
strong  puffs. 

'•This  little  excljange  of  compliments  — 
the  way  we  liad  in  those  days,  you  know, 
of  saying  'How  d"ye  do?'  —  was  only  the 
curtain-raiser  to  the  rt-al  performance,"'  the 
colonel  resumed,  after  his  pipe  again  had 
begun  to  glow  and  smoke  like  a  toy  volcano, 
"and  we  hadn't  lonof  to  wait  for  the  besrin- 
ning  of  it.  In  something  less  than  fifteen 
minutes  after  we"d  cut  loose  with  that  pre- 
liminarv  volley,  a  regiment  came  marching 
out  from  the  woods,  changed  direction  to  the 
right,  and  formed  line  of  battle ;  another 
followed  it,  and  foiined  on  its  left ;  and  in 
the  interval  between  them  a  batterv  swung 
into  position  and  unlimbered.  That  made 
the  odds  two  to  one,  in  iufantry  —  and  six  to 
nothing  in  the  matter  of  guns."' 

"  Then  ye  don't  count  th'  breastworks  for 
nothin'  ?  "  queried  Sam,  who  was  in  a  critical 
mood. 

"  Well,  they  ought  to  be  considered,'' 
admitted  the  colonel,  with  a  laugh,  "and  I'll 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  139 

call  it  an  even  thing  on  infantry,  but  the 
guns  we'll  have  to  figure  at  sixes  and  zeros  ; 
and  as  an  old  gunner,  Sam,  you'll  admit 
that  the  other  fellows  held  the  stronger  hand. 
"Now,  we  didn't  care  much  for  the  in- 
fantry part  of  the  show,  but  the  artillery 
feature  promised  to  be  interesting.  The 
sight  of  those  six  guns,  I  make  no  bones  of 
admitting,  worried  me  considerably;  and 
even  old  Burleigh  himself  showed  signs  of 
unusual  animation  when  he  turned  to  Frazier, 
our  quartermaster,  with,  'Frazier,  did  you 
ever  see  a  man  ride  like  hell  ? '  '  Yes,  sir, 
I've  seen  several  men  riding  that  way,' 
replied  the  quartermaster.  'Well,  then,' 
blurted  out  old  Burleigh,  'get  on  your  horse, 
and  ride  back  to  the  brigade  —  in  just  that 
way  !  Give  the  general  my  compliments,  and 
tell  him  I  want  some  guns,  and  in  the  biggest 
kind  of  hurry,  too,  if  I'm  to  hold  this  posi- 
tion. Say  that  I've  got  a  brigade,  at  the 
least,  to  handle,  and  nobody  knows  how 
much  more.  I  guess  I  can  stand  'em  off  for 
an  hour,  unless  they're  in  force  enough  to 
walk  right  over  me,  and  I'll  give  you  exactly 
those  sixty  minutes  for  getting  the  guns 
here.     That's  all  — go!    and  Frazier  started 


140  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

at  a  gallop,  just  as  the  first  shell  came  screech- 
ing across  the  clearing. 

"  'Twas  all-lired  short  range  for  artilFry 
work,"  commented  Sam,  at  this  point,  "an' 
I've  always  allowed  thet  th'  only  tiling  thet 
saved  ye  were  raw  gunners.  JList  ha'  be"n 
that,  for  guns  half  handled  would  ha'  had  ye 
dead  an"  buried  'fore  we  got  up." 

"Yes,  the  guns  seemed  frightfully  near,"' 
assented  the  chief,  slightly  shifting  his  posi- 
tion, to  biiug  liis  glass  within  easier  reach, 
'•and  I  think  your  guess  about  the  gunners 
must  be  a  good  one,  for  a  smartly  handled 
battery  ought  to  have  wiped  us  off  the  face 
of  the  eartli  in  less  than  half  the  time  that 
we  faced  this  one.  In  fact,  now  that  I  come 
to  think  of  it,  I  remember  noticing  that  most 
of  the  shells  went  over  us,  and  wondering 
how  soon  the  pieces  would  be  depressed  suffi- 
ciently to  knock  our  line  of  works  into  a 
cocked  hat. 

"  Well,  as  I've  said,  Frazier  left  for  the 
rear  in  something  of  a  hurry,  and  none  of  us 
devoted  much  time  to  watching  his  depart- 
ure, for  in  front  there  was  more  tlian  plenty 
to  take  up  our  attention.  Five  hundred 
yards  was  as  long  range  for  the  muskets  of 


TEE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  141 

those  days  as  it  was  close  quarters  for  guns  ; 
but  we  couldn't  stand  idle  and  take  all  the 
pounding,  and  so  we  went  in  for  a  little  firing 
on  our  own  account. 

"  For  a  time  things  were  rather  in  a  mixed- 
up  mess,  and  I  had  my  hands  full  in  seeing 
that  my  boys  kejit  cool  —  or  decently  near 
it  —  and  didn't  go  to  chucking  their  ammuni- 
tion away  too  generously ;  so  you  can  under- 
stand that  I  had  no  eye  for  anything  except 
what  went  on  in  ni}"  immediate  vicinity.  But 
I  can  remember,  as  distinctly  as  if  it  had 
occurred  but  yesterday,  how  I  turned,  when 
a  shell  burst  just  over  us,  and  saw  poor  Bob 
Sheldon  throw  up  his  hands,  stagger,  and  go 
plunging  down,  flat  upon  his  face.  I  was  at 
his  side  in  an  instant,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  be  done,  for  he  lay  there  dead^  with  the 
blood  gushing  in  torrents  from  a  frightful 
wound  which  apparently  had  crushed  in  his 
skull.  Poor  old  Bob !  I  turned  him  over 
upon  his  back,  gave  just  one  hurried  look  at 
him,  and  then  went  back  to  the  company, 
for  —  our  second  lieutenant  being  then  in 
hospital  —  I  was  the  only  officer  left." 

The  colonel  paused  long  enough  to  take  a 
sip  from  his  glass,  holding  it  for  an  instant 


142  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

u|»  before  hiiu  to  euteli  the  effect  of  the 
bright  mooiiliglit  upon  the  ruddy  claret. 
Then  he  went  on:  '■'•Just  how  long  we'd 
been  at  it  Fni  nut  certain — fur  it's  hard  to 
compute  time  M'hcn  every  minute  is  crowded 
with  noise,  and  smoke,  and  death;  but 
finally  there  came  a  Ict-u})  in  the  firing,  and 
with  it  an  indescribable  sort  of  feeling  that 
something  new  was  about  to  happen.  I  was 
walking  up  and  down  behind  my  company  — 
now  and  again  saying  a  word  to  steady  the 
boys  —  when,  from  our  rear,  I  heard  the 
music  of  a  military  band  ;  and  presently,  as 
it  drew  nearer,  I  caught  the  air  it  was  play- 
ino-.  It  was  our  own  band  —  we  were  one 
of  the  few  volunteer  regiments  provided  with 
such  a  luxury  —  and  old  Colonel  Burleigh 
had  ordered  it  to  march  up  to  the  front, 
playing  for  all  it  was  worth,  in  the  hope  that 
the  Confederates  might  be  led  to  believe  that 
we  were  being  reenforced. 

'•  Now,  we  were  a  careless  and  godless  set, 
the  most  of  us,  but  we  were  a  Massachusetts 
regiment.  New  Englanders  born  and  bred, 
and  we  all  knew  the  '  psalm  tunes'  of  our 
boyhood  days;  so  when  the  band  came 
marching    up,    thundering   out   the    '  Portu 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  143 

guese  Hymii "  —  that  grand  old  psalm  begin- 
ning, 

'  How  firm  a  fuuiulation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord,'  — 

the  effect  was  instantaneous.  The  old  colonel 
afterwards  told  us  that  he  had  intended  to 
pass  along  word  for  the  boys  to  set  up  a 
cheer  when  the  baud  began  to  play,  but  the 
command  never  was  given ;  for  when  our 
fellows  recognized  the  old,  familiar  air,  they 
rose  as  one  man,  and  shouted  and  yelled,  and 
yelled  again,  until  the  woods  reechoed  with 
the  cheering. 

"  The  cheerinq-  was  at  its  height  when  an 
inspiration  came  to  our  color-sergeant  —  a 
great,  bearded  fellow,  with  a  voice  like  a 
trumpet  —  and,  holding  high  in  air  the  torn 
and  faded  colors,  he  sprang  upon  the  breast- 
works, and  roared  out  the  second  verse  of 
the  hymn  — 

'  Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee  •,  oh,  be  not  dismayed  ! 
I,  I  am  thy  God,  and  will  still  give  thee  aid ; 
I'll  strengthen  thee,  help  thee,  and  cause  thee  to  stand, 
Upheld  by  my  righteous,  omnipotent  hand.' 

"•It  was  magnificent!  One  after  another 
the  boys  joined  in  the  refrain,  until  four  hun- 


144  THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED. 

drecl  tliroats  swelled  the  chorus,  and  four 
hundred  strong  voices  sang-  the  old  j'salni  as 
it  never  liad  been  sung  before.  It  was  one 
of  those  moments  that  make  an  impression 
upon  the  memory  which  only  death  can 
efface,  and  I  never  sliall  forget  tlie  electric 
thrill  which  ran  along  our  worn-out  line  as 
we  sung  those  words  of  mighty  comfort  and 
clieer. 

"  I  had  joined  in  with  the  rest,  and  was 
singing  for  all  that  was  in  me,  wlien  I  heard 
at  my  side  a  weak  voice  trying  to  follow  the 
air,  and,  looking  down,  I  saw  Bob  Sheldon  — - 
whom  I  had  thought  dead — supporting  him- 
self on  one  elbow,  and  feebly  wandering 
along  upon  the  words  of  the  hymn.  It  was 
a  ghastly  sight,  for  he  Avas  covered  with  blood 
from  the  ga[)ing  Avound  in  his  head,  and  so 
begrimed  with  the  dirt  which  had  clung  to 
it  that  his  own  mother  never  could  have 
recognized  him.  He  Avas  alive,  to  be  sure, 
but  barely  alive  ;  and  as  I  knelt  beside  him 
he  sank  back  with  a  pitifull}-  feeble  groan, 
for  the  eft'ort  he  had  made  had  exhausted 
the  little  strength  that  was  left  in  him. 

"•  Supporting  his  head  with  one  arm,  I 
moistened  his  lips  from  my  canteen,  and  then 


THE    nYMN    THAT    HELPED.  145 

bent  over  to  catch  what  he  was  saying ;  for, 
though  his  eyes  were  closed,  he  was  mutter- 
ing indistinctly,  and  I  could  make  out  an 
occasional  word  or  short  sentence.  'Nell  — 
little  Nell,'  I  heard  him  murmur,  '  it's  hard 
to  go  away.'  Poor  old  Bob  !  I  knew  in  a 
minute  that  he  was  clean  out  of  his  head, 
and  that  his  thoughts  had  gone  wandering 
back  to  his  old  New  England  town,  and  to 
the  brown-haired  girl  who,  with  brimming 
eyes  and  quivering  lips,  had  bidden  him  God- 
speed when  the  '  Old  Regiment '  marched 
away.  '  Be  patient  and  —  and  brave,  dear,' 
he  rambled  on,  in  his  feeble  voice,  '  for  I'm 
surely,  surely  coming  —  back  —  to  you.' 
Was  he  ?  Gad  !  something  caught  me  in  the 
throat  when  I  heard  the  words,"  and  the 
colonel  abruptly  paused,  and  reached  for  his 
glass. 

Half  unconsciously  the  major  slipped  his 
hand  inside  the  breast  of  his  coat,  where  it 
rested  upon  a  much-worn  leathern  case  in 
which  lay  hidden  a  photograph ;  the  adjutant 
blew  a  succession  of  feathery  smoke-rings 
across  the  broad  beam  of  moonlight  which 
came  streaming  into  the  room,  and  —  for  he 
was  a  very  young  man  —  fancied  that  each 


146  THE    IIYMX    THAT    nELPED. 

ring  framed  a  ccrtaiu  sunny  face ;  Van 
Sickles  tran(|uilly  went  on  M'itli  his  pipe  : 
and  the  cohjnel,  clearing  liis  tliruat  by  a 
slight  cough,  continued: 

"  Now.  all  this  meant  a  great  deal  to  me, 
for  I  had  known  fruni  childhood  both  Shel- 
don and  the  girl  whom  he  was  to  marry. 
Aiul  I  can  remember  how  I  wondered,  as  I 
knelt  there,  if  it  would  be  my  duty  to  tell 
her  how  her  lover  had  gone  down  at  his  post. 
I  tell  you,  boys,"  and  his  teeth  tightened  a 
bit  u[)ou  the  reed  stem  of  his  pipe,  "  war  has 
a  terrilde  fascination  —  I  wouldn't  willingly 
wipe  away  the  memory  oL  the  old  days  in  the 
service  —  and  yet  many  an  exi)erience  of 
mine  made  me  stop  to  think  if,  after  all,  war 
were  W(nth  the  wdrile. 

'•  But  in  this  case  matteis  turned  otit  all 
rio-ht  in  the  end."'  went  on  the  chief,  reaching 
for  the  jar  of  tobacco,  and  extracting  a  pipe- 
ful, whicli  he  slowly  ridjbed  in  the  palm 
of  one  hand,  -and  wlien  the  'Old  llcgimeut 
marched  through  the  crowdeil  streets  of 
Washington,  in  the  grand  r^^'view.  Bob  Shel- 
don rode  along  with  us  —  and  his  straps  bore 
the  gold  leaves,  in  place  of  the  silver  bars. 
Yes,  he  pulled  through  all  i-iglit,  and  not  long 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  147 

after  we  were  mustered  out,  I  stood  with  him 
in  the  little  church  at  home,  and  saw  his 
handsome  face  light  up  when  Nell  —  his 
'little  Nell'  —  came  l)lushing  down  the  aisle 
to  end  the  long  waiting. 

"  You  see,  the  flying  splinter  of  shell  that 
had  crushed  him  down  had  torn  a  frightful 
furrow  in  his  scalp,  and  had  stunned  him  for 
a  time  ;  but  the  skull  wasn't  fractured,  and 
so,  after  a  few  weeks,  he  came  back  from 
hospital  to  us,  strong  and  hearty,  and  nearly 
as  handsome  as  ever.  And  now,  Ned,"  glanc- 
ing towards  the  major,  and  holding  a  flaming- 
match  above  his  freshly  filled  cob-pipe,  "  I've 
demonstrated  to  you  how  a  band — if  it's  a 
good  one  and  judicious  in  the  selection  of 
its  music — ^can  call  a  dead  man  back  to 
life." 

"But  the  fight,  sir?"  asked  Van  Sickles, 
from  his  lounging-place  upon  the  cusliions ; 
"  how  did  the  fight  come  out  ?  " 

"•  Why,  that's  so  !  I  forgot  to  mention  how 
the  affair  ended,"  said  the  colonel,  rising  with 
a  yawn.  "  Sam,  j'ou  tell  'em  ;  you  know  as 
much  as  I  do  about  the  rest  of  it." 

"Wal,  I  dunno's  tliar's  much  more  t'  tell," 
drawled  the  old  gunner,  in  response  to  tliis 


148  THE    HYMX    THAT    HELPED. 

command.  ''  Fact  is,  tliar  wani't  much 
fightin'  a'ter  tlT  reg*ineiit"d  got  through 
with  its  praise-meetin".  Ye  see,  soon's  th'  oF 
gineral  heard  tli'  sound  o'  th'  guns  down 
Ashford  way,  he  started  a  coujile  o*  troops 
an'  our  batt'ry  a-jumpiu',  an*  Ave  met  Cun'l 
Burleigh's  messenger  on  th'  road.  Wal,  we 
sweat  our  teams  some,  an'  got  down  thar  real 
suddin  ;  an'  'fore  we'd  done  enough  firin'  t' 
heat  th'  guns,  th'  rebs  pulled  out  o'  th'  clear- 
in',  hoss,  foot,  an'  artill'ry  —  only  thar 
warn't  no  lioss  —  an'  took  'emselves  off  out 
o'  th'  way." 

"Yes,  tliat  was  the  way  it  ended,''  said  the 
chief,  as  Sam  closed  his  official  report  of  the 
action.  "  And  now  Ave  must  be  getting  along 
towards  bed.  Don't  set  too  stiff  a  })ace  for 
us,  Ned,  in  the  j^arade  ;  for  all  of  the  old  boys 
aren't  so  able-bodied  as  I  am,  and  to-morrow 
there'll  be  many  a  man  in  the  Grand  Army 
who'll  have  a  hard  struggle  betAveen  pride 
and  stiffened  joints.  "Wonder  Avhy  I  lighted 
this  pipe  !  Well,  it's  late,  and  I'm  going 
to  risk  being  caught  on  the  street  Avith  it. 
Good-night,  Sam." 

"  What's  become  of  your  man  Sheldon, 
since    the    war  ?  "    asked    Van    Sickles,    as 


THE    HYMN    THAT    HELPED.  149 

the   little   party   picked   its   way   down   the 
stairs. 

"  I've  lost  him,"  replied  the  colonel,  in  an 
altered  tone.  "  It's  a  long  story,  Van,  and  a 
sad  one.  Some  other  time,  perhaps,  I'll  tell 
you  ;  but  not  now." 


THE   SEVENTH   MAJOR 


THE  SEVENTH   MAJOR. 


I  WAS  a-tryin',"  Sam  once  medita- 
tively remarked,  up  in  The  Battery,, 
as  he  straightened  himself  up  after 
carefully  depositing  a  fresh  log  upon  the 
blazing  fire,  —  "I  was  a-tryin'  t'  figger  out 
how  many  majors  we've  got  now.  Startin'  at 
th'  top,  thar's  three  real  majors,  which  are 
three  ;  then  thar  be  th'  surg'n  —  he  bein'  also 
a  major  likewise — comin'  t'  four;  then  th' 
sargint-major  an'  drum-major  totals  her  up 
t'  six  —  an'  then  in  comes  Major  Larry 
Callahan,  at  th'  wind-up,  makin'  sev'n. 
Sev'n  majors !  Tol'able  gen'rous  outfit  fur 
one  reg'ment,  hain't  it  ?  " 

Well,  yes  —  I  suppose  it  is ;  and  yet  all 
seven  of  our  majors  ably  fill  their  positions, 
while  Major  Larry  Callahan  certainly  fills  Jiis 
to  the  brim. 

He  never  was  enlisted,  and  his  name  has 
no  place  between  the  heavy  leather  covers  of 


154  THE   SF.VENTTT  MAJOR. 

the  paymaster's  elierished  roll-book,  and  yet 
lie  is  just  as  miich  a  part  of  the  regiment  as 
the  colonel  commanding,  or  for  that  matter,  as 
the  adjutant  —  and  everybody  hnows  Ivow 
big  a  man  a  gold-corded  adjutant  considers 
liimself.  Why,  I  hcniestly  believe  that 
Colonel  Elliott  — -  at  such  times  as  it  seems 
good  to  parade  the  Third,  to  exhibit  the 
power  of  the  Commonwealth's  "  Strong  Right 
Arm" — never  would  tliink  of  crivinor  the 
order  to  start  into  motion  his  seven  hundred 
men  unless  he  first  had  made  sure  that  Larry 
Avas  at  Ids  post  in  front  of  the  big  bass-drum. 
"  Is  Mulcahy  in  the  ranks  ?  "  asked  Hancock 
at  Gettysburg.  "  He  is  ?  Then  let  the 
battle  proceed  I '" — and  that  rather  well 
illustrates  our  feelings  in  regard  to  our 
seventh  major. 

It  was  two  years  ago  last  June  when  he 
came  to  tis.  "VVe  just  had  topped  off  a  week 
of  hard  work  in  camp  by  a  long,  hot  parade 
through  the  dusty  streets  of  the  cit}-,  and  six 
of  our  twelve  C(Tmpanies  had  been  dismissed 
to  take  trains  for  their  out-of-town  stations, 
while  the  rest  of  the  regiment,  with  the 
drum-corps  and  the  band,  had  marched  up 
town  to  the  big  armory.     How  he  got  by  the 


THE  SF.VENTH  MAJOR.  156 

sentry  at  the  door  is  more  than  I  can  tell,  but 
somehow  he  managed  it ;  I  dare  say  he 
"sneaked  it"  in,  under  cover  of  the  big 
drum  which  afterwards  became  his  idol. 

Captain  Tom  Stearns,  of  "  A,"  had  turned 
his  company  over  to  his  first  sergeant,  and 
stood  mopping  his  forehead  with  his  hand- 
kerchief, as  he  watched  his  men  slowly  filing 
through  the  door  of  the  drill-hall  on  their 
way  upstairs  to  quarters,  when  he  felt  a  tug 
at  the  skirts  of  his  coat  and  lieard  a  hoarse 
little  voice  demanding,  "  C'n  I  get  a  job 
carryin'  de  drum  —  say,  can't  I,  mister  ?  I 
c'n  tote  it  jus'  's  well's  dat  coon  youse  got 
dere,  an'  I'd  match  d'  rest  o'  de  men  better." 

The  captain  looked  down,  and  discovered, 
about  at  the  level  of  his  belt,  a  fiery  red  head, 
crowned  by  the  ruin  of  a  once-white  straw 
hat ;  while  a  snub  nose,  an  enormous  mouth, 
a  lavish  display  of  freckles,  and  a  twinkling 
pair  of  impish  gray  eyes  made  up  the  promi- 
nent features  of  the  face  upturned  for  his 
inspection. 

"  How  in  time  did  you  get  in  here  ? " 
politely  asked  Stearns,  taking  the  intruder 
by  the  ear,  and  entirely  ignoring  his  re- 
quest. 


156  THE   SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

"  Follied  de  band,  same's  youse  did.  Le' 
go  me  ear,  will  yer !  Say,  c'n  I  carry  de 
drum  ?  " 

"No,  you  can't.  Now,  'bout  face  —  aud 
march!''''  replied  the  captain,  releasing  the 
boy's  ear.  "Look  out  for  the  guard  at  the 
door,  or  he'll  make  a  pincushion  of  you  when 
you  go  by  him." 

The  ragged  little  urchin  turned  away,  his 
face  puckering  into  a  mass  of  wrinkles  in 
which  a  fair  share  of  the  freckles  disap- 
peared, dug  a  dirty  fist  into  each  eye,  and 
started  towards  the  door. 

"  Here,  come  back  for  a  minute  !  "  called 
Stearns,  who,  though  dusty,  hot,  and  tired, 
felt  some  compunction  for  his  roughness,  and 
in  amends  meditated  the  offering  of  a  dime. 
"  What  are  you  crying  about  ?  " 

"  I  ain't  cryin'  ;  an'  I  wanted  de  job  —  an' 
I'm  hungry,"  said  the  boy,  stopping  and  turn- 
ing about. 

"  You  were  crying ;  and  you  can't  have 
the  job — and  if  you're  hungry,  why  don't 
you  go  home  to  get  a  bite  to  eat,  instead  of 
hanging  around  processions  '^  "  said  the  cap- 
tain, thrusting  his  hand  into  his  pocket  in 
search  of  a  peace-offering. 


THE   SEVENTH  MA  JOB.  lo7 

"  Ain't  got  no  home  t'  go  to,"  came  the 
brief  but  comprehensive  reply. 

"  Haven't,  eh  ?     What's  your  name  ?  " 

"  Callahan  —  Larry  Callahan,"  replied  the 
imp,  coming  a  step  nearer.  "  Say,  ivhy  can't 
I  carry  de  drum?  Dat  coon's  clo'es  would 
jus'  about  fit  me,  an'  I  sli'd  t'ink  de  fellies 
would  ruther  'sooiate  wid  me  dan  wid  him." 

This  novel  view  of  the  fitness  of  things 
seemed  to  come  home  with  considerable 
force  to  the  tall  captain,  for  he  grinned  and 
said,  "  Well,  I'm  not  sure  that  there  isn't 
something  in  that  view  of  the  situation. 
Come  along  upstairs  with  me.  I've  got  to 
shift  out  of  my  uniform,  and  after  that  I'll 
see  what  I  can  do  for  you.  I'm  hungry  my- 
self, and  I've  a  faint  suspicion  that  I'm  also 
thirsty,  so  I  can  sympathize  with  you  to  a 
certain  extent.  Come  along,  '  Major '  —  we'll 
go  foraging  later." 

In  the  company  rooms  there  was  tumult, 
as  there  always  is  when  sixty  men  find  them- 
selves jammed  into  a  confined  space  and 
simultaneously  making  the  attempt  to  change 
from  the  blue  of  the  soldier  to  the  plainer  and 
better-fitting  costume  of  the  civilian.  Belt 
buckles  clattered,  locker  doors  slammed,  and 


158  THE   SEVENTH   MAJOR. 

now  and  again  a,  stray  l)ar  f»f  the  latest  pop- 
ular song  brought  forth  either  a  rousinsr 
c-liorus  or  else  a  I'oar  of  derision  loud  enough 
to  drown  all  other  sounds.  Conversation, 
though  rather  fragmentary,  M'as  plentiful  and 
generously  spiced,  for  the  week  in  camp  had 
supplied  the  men  with  a  brand-new  stock 
of  o-arrs  and  guys,  and  a  torrent  of  chaff,  in 
which  no  one  escaped,  was  raging  unchecked. 

"  Who'll  get  the  grand  bounce  for  running 
the  guard  last  Thursday  night  ? "  roared  a 
voice,  just  as  the  captain  and  his  new-found 
acquaintance  reached  the  door  of  the  com- 
pany quarters ;  and, "  Smith — Private  Smith!  " 
came  back  the  answering  yell. 

"  Yes,  and  the  captain's  got  a  recruit  for 
your  place,  me  boy,"  said  a  man  standing 
near  the  door  of  the  equipment-room,  catch- 
ing  sight  of  Stearns'  guest.  "  Come  here. 
Smithy,  and  get  onto  the  new  un  that's  going 
to  stuff  out  your  uniform." 

Stearns  cauglit  this  last  remark  and  smiled 
at  it,  for  he  had  found  recent  occasion  to  "  read 
the  riot  act "  to  one  Private  Smith,  and  he 
remembered  having  said  that  he  might  feel 
compelled  to  give  that  unruly  warrior's  uni- 
form to  some  man  more  worthy  of  filling  it. 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  159 

In  the  snug'  officers'  dressing-room  the  two 
lieutenants  M'ere  engaged  in  freeing  them- 
selves from  their  heavy,  uncomfortable  dress- 
coats.  Both  looked  up  as  the  captain  entered, 
and  both  laughed  when  he  said,  "  Gentlemen, 
I  have  the  honor  of  presenting  Major  Larry 
Callahan,  who  has  inspected  the  regiment, 
and  expresses  complete  satisfaction  at  its 
apparent  efficiency.  He  more  especially 
dwells  upon  the  soldierly  bearing  of  the 
drum-corps,  though  he  criticises  the  complex- 
ion of  the  musician  at  the  forward  end  of  the 
boomer-drum,  making  the  point  that  the 
presence  of  this  black  sheep  among  our  tune- 
ful lambs  is  in  doubtful  taste.  I  might  add 
that  he  aspires  to  the  position  himself. 
Harry,"  to  the  second  lieutenant,  "  you're 
smoking  a  cigarette  !  It's  a  nasty  and  often 
fatal  habit  —  and  you  may  give  me  one.  It's 
the  first  article  of  war  that  a  junior  officer 
always  must  set  'em  up  for  his  superiors." 

Stearns  lighted  the  cigarette  which  this 
gentle  hint  brought  forth  from  his  subaltern's 
case,  hung  his  heavy  helmet  upon  a  project- 
ing gas-burner,  and  began  leisurely  to  strip 
himself  of  his  trappings. 

"  Where  did  vou  get  it  ?  "  asked  the  senior 


160  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

Jieuteiiaiit,  nodding  :it  Larry,  and  then  turn- 
ing to  deposit  liis  sword  and  belt  in  his 
locker. 

"  He  introduced  liuuself  to  me,  down  in  the 
hall,"  replied  the  captain,  sighiug  contentedly 
as  he  flung  his  coat,  with  its  row  of  jingling 
marksman's  medals,  across  the  nearest  chair. 
"  I'm  to  have  the  pleasure  of  his  company  at 
lunch,  as  soon  as  T  can  get  into  street  costume. 
I  crave  food,  and  —  by  the  Great  White  La- 
bel !  — I  crave  pure,  sparkling,  cold  water,  or 
anything  cold  and  wet,'*  and  he  softly  hummed 
to  himself, 

"  No-bod-y  knows  how  dry-I-ani  I  " 

"  Then  you'll  not  c(nne  over  to  the  club  witli 
us  ?  "  asked  the  younger  lieutenant,  ruefully. 
"  T  know  it  seems  a  journey  —  way  across 
town  on  a  day  like  this  —  but  we'd  counted 
on  your  coming.  Westbrook,  of  the  Fourth, 
is  going  to  meet  us,  and  possibly  Van  Sickles 
will  be  there.     Can't  you  fix  it  ?  " 

"  No,  not  to-day,  boA's,"  said  the  captain, 
taking  from  his  locker  a  straw  hat  and  plac- 
ing it  upon  his  head,  with  a  mental  compari- 
son between  its  weight  and  that  of  his  stiff, 
spiked  helmet ;    "  I  can't  do  it  to-day.      I'm 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  161 

going  to  the  hotel  for  a  bite,  and  then  I'm 
bound  straight  for  home  — ^and  a  tub.  Well, 
so-long !  Remember,  I  must  see  you  both 
here  to-morrow  afternoon  —  say,  at  half-past 
four.  Come  on,  Major,"  and  with  a  nod  to 
his  lieutenants  he  left  the  room. 

The  two  younger  men  winked  at  each  other, 
when  the  captain  had  disappeared,  and  the 
junior  found  occasion  to  remark,  "  Isn't  he 
the  gaudy  old  crank  !  Always  picking  up 
some  curio  or  other  —  but  this  last  'find'  of 
his  comes  near  beating  'em  all,  eh  ?  " 

"  It's  one  of  his  original  ways  of  amusing 
himself,"  said  the  other,  stepping  to  the  mir- 
ror to  adjust  his  tie,  "•  and  I  dare  say  he  enjoys 
it  —  but  it  isn't  every  one  that  could  afford  to 
go  'round  in  that  way,  with  a  dirty  little  ruffian 
tagging  along  at  his  heels.  Come,  Harry, 
aren't  you  ready  yet  ?  Well,  get  a  gait  on  you, 
then  —  we  don't  want  to  keep  Westbrook  in 
agony  any  longer  than  necessary." 

Over  at  the  hotel,  Stearns  put  his  guest 
through  a  vigorous  course  of  soap-and-towel 
exercise,  and  then  ushered  him  into  the  gen- 
tlemen's cafe.  To  be  sure,  the  waiters  stared 
a  bit  when  the  tall  captain  and  his  dilapi- 
dated follower  took  possession  of  a  table  ;  but 


162  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

Stearns  was  a  friMiuent  and  liberal  patron, 
and  so  —  in  spite  of  the  exceedingly  doubt- 
fnl  social  standing  of  his  companion — ^his 
order  received  prompt  and  willing  attention. 
In  the  attack  upon  the  food  the  lionors  were 
easy,  but  I'm  reasonably  sure  that  Larry  gave 
good  account  of  himself,  for  Fve  had  the 
privilege  of  seeing  him  eat,  in  his  company 
mess  at  camp,  and  so  I'm  able  to  vouch  for  his 
ability  as  a  trencher-man. 

So  long  as  anytliing  eatable  remained  on 
the  table,  conversation  languished,  but  when 
the  last  crumb  had  disappeared  —  a  matter  to 
which  Larry  [irobubly  attended  —  the  captain 
called  for  a  glass  of  Kiimel-and-ice,  lighted  a 
cigar,  and  said,  "  Well,  INIajor  Callalian,  I 
trust  that  good  digestion  may  be  })leased  to 
attend  your  ap[)etite.  How  are  you  feeling 
—  well  lined  ?  " 

"  By  Jinks  !  "  responded  liis  guest,  drawing 
Ins  forefinger  across  his  throat,  "  me  tank's 
loaded  'way  up  t'  here.  Dat  was  dandy  grub, 
de  bes'  I  ever  got." 

^'  Can't  you  go  something  more  ?  "  asked 
Stearns,  much  gratified  at  the  spirit  in 
which  liis  hospitality  had  been  received. 

"  No-o,  I'm  'fraid  I  couldn't  fin'  de  room," 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  163 

said  the  little  fellow,  slowly  and  with  an  air 
of  deep  regret.  "  I'd  like  t'  'commodate  yer, 
but  me  'commodations  is  all  took  up." 

"  If  that's  the  case,  then,"  said  the  captain, 
raising  his  glass  to  inspect  the  icy  film  with 
which  its  exterior  had  become  coated,  "  we'll 
indulge  in  a  gentlemanly  cliat.  You're  sure 
there's  nothing  else  you  want  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  smokes,'"  was  Larry's  suggestive 
response  to  this  last  question,  "  an'  if  youse 
've  got  a  cig'rette  — " 

"No,  you  dont  smoke,"  jjut  in  the  captain 
with  some  emphasis ;  "  at  least,  you  don't 
smoke  here." 

"Jus'  's  yer  say,  o'  course,"  replied  his 
guest.  "  I  don't  care  much  'bout  it  —  on'y  I 
fought  p'r'aps  'twould  be  sort  o'  comp'ny 
t'  yer." 

"  Well,  it  wouldn't  be,"'  said  Stearns,  push- 
ing his  chair  a  trifle  farther  away  from  the 
table.  "  And  now.  Major,  suppose  you  tell  me 
something  about  yourself.  You  say  you've 
no  home  —  what's  the  reason  ?  " 

The  boy  took  a  big  gulp  of  water,  hesi- 
tated for  an  instant,  and  then  —  catching 
the  kindly  expression  in  the  captain's  eye  — 
rested  his  elbows  upon  the  table,  and  told  his 


164  THE   SEVENTH   MAJOR. 

stoiy :  how  lie  never  had  known  a  father ; 
how  liis  mothei'  had  been  sent  away  for  a 
long  teiin  at  the  women's  reformatory ;  and 
how  he  liiiuself  had  been  consigned  to  the 
fostering  care  of  an  '•  Institution,"  but  had 
managed  to  evade  the  oilicer  who  liad  been 
sent  to  conduct  liim  to  it. 

"  I  s'pose  rd  oughter  ha'  went  t'  de 
'  Home,'  "  admitted  Larry,  as  he  concluded  his 
brief  and  jiltiful  liTc's  liistorv  ;  "•  but,  hones",  I 
couldn't  stan'  it  t"  live  de  M'av  dem  kids  does. 
Dey  gets  dei-e  free  meals  a  day,  an'  has  a 
place  t'  sleep  —  but  dat's  de  whole  of  it. 
An'  as  fer  fun,  why,  what  does  deij  know 
'bout  fun  ?  Nothin' !  Jus'  youse  look  at  'em 
sometime,  an'  see  what  a  peej)y-looking  lot 
dey  is.  Huh  I  dey  ain't  got  no  guts  at  all !  " 
and  with  this  inelegant  summing-up  of  the 
moral  effects  of  charity-rearing  he  dismissed 
as  absurd  any  possibility  of  his  subjecting 
himself  to  its  tender  mercies. 

Captain  Stearns  heard  the  boy  through,  and 
then  for  a  few  minutes  sat  thoughtfully 
smoking.  Finally  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the 
little  gamin,  and  abruptly  asked,  "  Larry,  are 
you  honest  ?  " 

"  Yessir,"  replied  the  boy  promptly,  meet- 


TBE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  165 

ing  unfalteringly  the  captain's  glance,  "  Yessir, 
I'm  dead  on  de  square,  an'  if  'twasn't  dat  I'm 
tryin'  t'  keep  clear  o'  de  '  Home,'  I'd  jus'  's 
lives  walk  up  t'  any  copper  in  town." 

"  That's  business,"  said  Stearns,  "and  I'm 
glad  to  hear  you  say  so.  Now,  I'm  going  to 
give  you  some  money,  to  keep  you  running 
until  tomorrow," — with  this  he  drew  out  a 
handful  of  change,  —  "  and  if  you're  playing 
a  square  game  with  me  you'll  meet  me  to- 
morrow noon,  at  the  armory.  Ask  for  Cap- 
tain Stearns,  and  they'll  let  you  in.  I'm  not 
sure  that  I  can  do  anything  for  you  —  I  can't 
today,  at  any  rate — but  we  can  talk  over 
the  situation.     Is  it  a  go  ?  " 

"  Yep,  I'll  be  wid  youse,"  said  the  boy, 
hesitatingly  taking  the  money  which  his  en- 
tertainer pushed  across  to  him.  "  A  quarter, 
an'  ten's  t'irty-five  —  an'  t'ree  nick'ls  is  a 
ha'f  !  "  he  went  on,  inspecting  the  tokens  of 
the  captain's  munificence.  "  Gee-cricketty ! 
w'at'll  I  do  wid  all  de  wealt'?  Somebody'll 
be  marryin'  me  fer  me  forchune,  'f  I  ain't 
careful !  " 

"  You  needn't  spend  it  all,  unless  you  have 
to,"  said  Stearns ;  "  and  if  you  have  any  of  it 
left,  when  you  meet  me  tomorrow,  I  shall 


166  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

think  all  the  better  of  you.  See  here,"  he 
went  on,  yielding  to  a  sudden  whim,  and 
tossing  over  a  bill  as  he  spoke,  "  suppose  you 
put  on  a  little  style,  and  pay  for  this  lunch  of 


ours 


.  I 


Larry's  eyes  twinkled  as  he  clutched  at 
the  bill,  and  liis  mouth  twisted  itself  into 
a  grin  of  alarming  proportions,  but  in  an 
instant  he  assumed  an  air  of  unruffled  com- 
posure, and  beckoning  to  the  waiter  he 
inquired,  "  Sa-ay,  cully,  w'at's  de  taxes  on 
dese  'freshments  ? '' 

The  astonished  waiter,  check  in  hand,  for  a 
moment  stood  glancing  back  and  forth  from 
the  captain  to  the  ragged  but  unabashed 
urchin.  But  Larry,  waving  the  bill  in  his  face, 
demanded,  "  Have  youse  b'en  drinkin'  ?  I  axed 
youse  de  damage  on  de  whole  layout ! " 

"  Yas,  sail,"  at  length  said  the  bewildered 
colored  man,  laying  the  check  before  the  boy, 
"  I  heerd  yo'  !  " 

"  Den  dafs  all  right,"'  said  Larry,  picking 
up  the  check  and  glancing  at  it,  only  to  break 
out  with,  "  Wat  !  Two  dollars  an'  a  quarter? 
Why,  I  seen  a  place,  on'y  dis  mornin',  where 
dey  gives  youse  a  square  meal  — '  de  bes'  in 
de  city,'  it  said  on  de  sign  —  fer  twenty 
cents ! " 


THE  SEVENTH  MA  JOE.  167 

"  I  think  the  check  is  correct,"  put  in 
Stearns,  smiling  at  the  indignant  expression 
on  Larry's  face  and  the  disgusted  look  of 
the  waiter.  "  Pay  up  —  you're  not  being 
cheated." 

After  matters  had  been  adjusted  satisfac- 
torily, the  captain  rose,  held  out  his  hand  to 
his  guest,  and  said,  "Well,  my  boy,  I  must 
be  going.  Hope  you  enjoyed  your  lunch  as 
well  as  I  did  mine.  You'll  drop  in  on  me  to- 
morrow, eh  ?  " 

"  Sure  ! "  replied  the  major,  as  he  hunted 
for  a  pocket  secure  enough  foi  the  retaining 
of  his  suddenly  acquired  riches.  "  T'anks 
fer  de  grub,  an'  I'm  'bliged  fer  all  dis  mon'. 
An'  say,"  coaxingly,  "  youse  must  have  pull 
enough  fer  t'  get  me  de  place  on  de  drum." 

"  I'm  afraid  I  can't  promise  you  that,"  said 
the  captain,  stopping  as  they  reached  the 
street,  "  for  the  drum-corps  is  rather  outside 
my  command.  Well,  I  turn  off  here  —  good- 
bye, until  tomorrow  noon,  Major." 

The  next  forenoon  Captain  Tom  varied 
his  customary  Sunday  routine  by  taking  a 
stroll  through  a  quarter  of  the  city  with 
which  he  had  but  slight  acquaintance,  and 
casually  dropping  in  at   the  station  house  of 


168  TUE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

the  precinct  wherein  Larry  claimed  former 
residence.  A  short  chat  with  the  lieutenant 
behind  the  rail  brought  out  a  number  of 
unedifying  facts  about  the  lad's  parentage, 
but  Stearns  found  that  his  protege  had  kept 
to  the  truth  in  telling  his  story  ;  and  so,  con- 
siderably encouraged,  he  took  a  cab  and  went 
to  meet  his  appointment  at  the  armory. 

Promptly  at  noon  IMajor  Larry  reported 
with  an  elaborate  sweep  of  the  hand  evi- 
dently meant  to  represent  a  military  salute, 
and  witli  a  most  expectant  grin  upon  his  mo- 
bile features. 

"  On  time  to  a  minute,  that's  proper," 
said  Captain  Tom,  drawing  out  the  sliding 
book-shelf  of  his  desk,  and  utilizing  it  as  a 
resting-place  for  his  long  legs.  "Sit  down, 
Larry,  and  we'll  have  a  conference  of  the 
powers.     How  did  your  '  wealt"  hold  out?" 

Silently,  but  with  a  splendid  air  of  pride, 
the  boy  drew  a  handful  of  coins  from  his 
pocket,  came  over  to  the  captain's  desk,  and 
spread  out  his  capital  for  inspection.  Stearns 
counted  the  collection,  and  found  that  it 
aggregated  eighty-two  cents. 

"  H'm !  so  you're  a  young  Napoleon  of 
finance  ? "   he   said,  as  the   little  fellow   put 


THE   SEVENTH  MAJOR.  169 

back  the  money  into  his  pocket.  ''  Well, 
tell  me  how  you  managed  it." 

"  It  was  dis  way,"  explained  Larry,  balanc- 
ing himself  on  the  back  of  a  chair :  "  t'  start 
wid,  I  had  de  ha'f  youse  gin  me ;  an'  den  I 
went  into  de  papey  biz,  and  sol'  enough  t' 
make  twenty  cents  more.  Now,  dat  was 
'velvet' — dem  two  dimes  was — an'  so  I 
went  t'  pitchin'  pennies  wid  de  Pie  Alley 
gang,  an'  I  win  t'irty  more,  makin'  an  even 
ekimole.  Well,  I  'stood'  on  dat,  'cause  I 
tvasn't  takin'  no  chances ;  an'  I've  got  de 
Btack,  'ceptin'  free  cents  I  give  Reddy 
Burns  fer  a  shine,  and  fifteen  w'at  I  blew 
In  on  me  breakfus'.  I  slep'  wid  Reddy  las' 
night,  y'  know,  an'  so  I  paid  'im  fer  me  lodg- 
in'  by  iettin'  'im  black  me  boots  —  which 
wasn't  no  snap  fer  'im,  'cause  one  o'  dem 
boots  is  a  cloth  'un,  an'  he  kep'  shinin'  fer 
an  hour  'fore  he  c'd  get  it  t'  glitterin'." 

"  Where  did  you  get  your  supper  ? "  in- 
quired Stearns,  leaning  back  in  his  chair  and 
laughing  at  Larrj^'s  report  of  his  business 
transactions. 

"  Oh,  I  didn't  want  much  supper,  'cause  it 
was  so  late  when  you  an'  me  was  eatin',"  re- 
turned  the   major,  jingling  his  coins  in  his 


170  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

pocket,  "but  I  matched  wid  Slinky  Smith  fer 
a  piece  o'  pie,  down  in  de  alley,  an  stuck'm. 
Say,  ril  give  back  dat  ha'f,  if  youse  want  it  — 
an'  how  'bout  de  drum  ?  " 

Well,  Larry  failed  to  get  the  position  his 
soul  coveted — at  least,  at  that  time  —  but 
when,  after  being  in  executive  session  for 
more  than  an  hour,  the  Conference  of  the 
Powers  adjourned,  he  had  been  appointed 
"  Company  Kid  "  for  "  A  "  ;  and  on  the 
Monday  night  following  he  duly  was  in- 
troduced to  the  men,  and  was  installed 
formally  in  office. 

From  that  day  until  now  his  popularity 
steadily  has  o-rown  greater  —  "  and  for  good 
cause."  He  has  an  inexhaustible  fund  of 
Irish  wit,  by  but  one  generation  removed  from 
The  Sod,  and  sharpened  to  the  keenest  edge 
by  the  sort  of  life  he  has  led.  He  is  a  tower 
of  strength  in  his  command  of  modern  Arabic, 
that  weird  patois  which  reaches  its  full  power 
and  beauty  only  in  the  streets  of  a  great  city. 
He  can  sing,  after  a  fashion,  and  his  ability 
to  "  do  a  dance  act "  is  unquestioned,  for 
when  he  executes  the  steps  it  is  witli  an  air 
of  impressive  earnestness  and  solemnity  that 
never  fails  to  bring  down  the  house.     In  fact, 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  171 

since  his  advent,  when  we  in  the  staff-room 
hear  a  yell  of  delight  come  echoing  down  the 
stairs  and  along  the  corridors,  we  grin  sympa- 
thetically one  to  another,  and  say,  "  Larry's 
at  it  again  —  the  little  devil !  " 

He  is  clever,  too,  at  all  sorts  of  things  over 
which  the  volunteer  hates  to  fuss,  and  many 
a  dime  comes  his  way  in  return  for  his  skill 
in  polishing  buttons  and  brasses  for  the  lazy 
men  of  the  company  —  and  "  A,"  with  fifty- 
eight  enlisted  men  upon  its  rolls,  boasts  of  an 
aggregate  of  fifty-seven  who  always  are  "  in 
fatigue,"  the  remaining  one  being  the  tire- 
less first-serofeant. 

Yes,  it  was  a  great  and  ruby-lettered  day 
for  "A"  —  the  day  when  Larry  came  to  it  — 
and  in  all  its  long  history  its  quarters  never 
were  kept  so  neat  and  clean,  and  its  officers 
and  men  never  were  entertained  so  well  as 
they  have  been  since  he  began  his  genial 
reign.  And  it  was  a  great  day  for  the  regi- 
ment when  our  "seventh  major"  joined  — 
for  Stearns'  nickname  of  "  Major  "  Callahan 
has  been  adopted  officially — because  Larry's 
fame  has  gone  abroad  in  the  land,  and  his 
deeds  have  added  new  lustre  to  the  name  of 
the  Third. 


172  THE   SEVENTH   MAJOR. 

Larry  had  been  with  us  a  little  over  a  year 
when  his  great  opportunit}''  came  to  him.  It 
was  on  a  certain  night  when  "  A  "  had  made 
arrangements  for  a  smoke-talk,  up  in  quar- 
ters—  for  Captain  Stearns  had  met  at  his 
club  one  Lieutenant  Hackett,  of  the  regular 
cavalry,  whom  he  had  induced,  after  much 
patient  persuasion,  to  come  over  to  the  armory 
and  informally  talk  to  the  boys  on  the  de- 
lights and  discomforts  of  chasing  Lidians 
around  through  the  Bad  Lands. 

Now,  much  as  Larry  respected  his  own 
corps,  he  held  the  regulars  in  even  higher 
esteem,  for  he  always  had  heard  "  The  Army  " 
held  up  as  a  pattern  of  all  that  is,  in  a  mil- 
itary sense,  good-and-holy  and  generally 
worthy  of  imitation  by  the  hard-working 
and  much-cursed-at  volunteer.  So  when  it 
came  to  his  ears  that  a  regular  officer  —  and 
one,  too,  who  actually  had  seen  holes  shot 
through  people  !  —  really  was  going  to  honor 
his  domain  by  his  presence,  he  went  to  work 
with  even  greater  energy  than  he  had  dis- 
played at  inspection  time,  and  accomplished 
a  house-cleaning  such  as  would  have  warmed 
the  heart  of  any  New  England  matron  to 
witness. 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR,  173 

First  he  swept  the  floor,  and  then  he  dusted 
from  the  furniture  the  dust  which  had  been 
raised  by  that  operation,  and  then  he  swept 
up  again  the  dust  wliich  the  dusting  had  caused 
to  return  to  the  carpet  —  and  then  he  paused, 
reflecting  that,  in  the  nature  of  things,  he 
might  continue  this  alternation  forever  unless 
he  stopped.  So,  after  a  final  dusting,  he  bent 
his  energies  to  the  arrangement  of  the  chairs, 
marshalling  them  in  ranks  of  military  rigidity, 
and  squinting  critically  along  each  row  — 
muttering,  "  Back  in  de  center,  dere ! "  or 
"  Up  on  de  left,  dad-gast-yer-shoulder-blades ! " 
as  he  rectified  the  alignment.  Then  he 
polished  the  glasses  of  the  pictures  which 
form  the  nondescript  art-gallery  of  the  com- 
pany ;  and  finally  he  put  the  crowning  touch 
to  his  afternoon's  work  by  brushing  the  plush 
cushions  of  the  great,  carved  chair  in  which 
the  captain  seats  himself  on  occasions  of  state 
and  ceremony. 

He  had  been  so  busy  that  he  had  allowed 
his  supper-hour  to  slip  by  unheeded,  and 
"when  he  happened  to  glance  up  at  the  clock 
he  gave  a  low  whistle  of  surprise,  and  said 
to  himself,  "  Quarter  pas'  sev'n  ?  Woiv  !  how 
de   time's   be'n    hurapin'    along?       Well,   I 


174  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

s'pose  I  might's  well  skip  me  grub  now :  de 
boys'Il  be  showin'  up  in  less  'n  a  shake." 

He  had  given  one  last  critical  glance  around 
the  room  and  was  turning  towards  the  door, 
when  his  eye  fell  upon  the  great,  wrought- 
iron  lamp  wliich  the  company  rifle-team  had 
won,  a  couple  of  years  before,  in  a  match 
with  "  K,"  of  tlie  Fourth,  and  suddenly  he 
remembered  that  the  oil  in  it  nearl}^  had  been 
burned  out.  Now,  the  boys  of  "  A  "  regard 
that  lamp  with  particular  affection,  because 
it  was  won  in  a  contest  to  which  they  had 
been  egged-on  by  a  series  of  peculiarly  ex- 
asperating events  ;  and  it  has  become  a  time- 
honored  custom  of  the  company  to  have  the 
lamp  a-glovv  on  every  occasion  when  its 
members  are  assembled  by  night.  So  I\Ia- 
jor  Larry,  knowing  that  the  absence  of  its 
cheerful  rays  would  rouse  the  wrath  of  the 
company  kickers,  picked  up  the  heavy  mass 
of  iron,  and  lugged  it  into  the  equipment- 
room. 

Here  he  filled  the  lamp,  polished  the  chim- 
ney, trimmed  the  wick,  lighted  it,  and  had 
raised  his  burden  to  carry  it  back  to  its 
place — when,  in  some  unexplained  way,  he 
lost  his  grip   upon  it,  and  the    whole  heavy 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  176 

affair  went  crashing  down  upon  the  floor. 
In  an  instant  the  scattered  oil  was  in  a 
blaze,  and  as  Larry  stood  there,  horrified  at 
his  mishap,  he  saw  the  creeping  tongues  of 
flame  beginning  to  lick  their  way  up  the 
varnished  woodwork  of  the  nearest  lockers. 
In  two  jumps  he  was  at  the  door  :  a  dozen 
steps  more  brought  him,  yelling  "  Fire  ! " 
at  the  top-pitch  of  his  voice,  out  into  the 
corridor  —  and  then  there  came  to  him  a 
thought  that  almost  stilled  the  beating  of 
his  heart. 

"Good  Gawd!"  he  gasped,  stopping  short 
in  his  tracks,  "dey's  live  hundred  round  o' 
ca'tridge  au'  a  ten-pound  canister  o'  powder 
in  de  nex'  locker  to  de  one  dat's  burniu'  — 
an'  de  door's  locked !  Oh,  what'll  I  do  — 
whafll  I  do  !  " 

Well,  here's  what  he  did  do  —  and  we  have 
fallen  into  the  way  of  believing  that  no  man 
could  have  done  much  better  work.  On  the 
wall  of  the  company  room,  in  the  midst  of  a  col- 
lection of  flint-lock  muskets  and  other  anti- 
quated contrivances  for  achieving  wild  shots, 
hung  a  heavy  axe,  a  relic  of  the  ante-bellum 
days  when  "A"  —  at  that  time  an  inde- 
pendent   company  —  added    dignity    to    its 


176  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

parades  by  maintaining  a  small  but  ferocious- 
looking  pioneer  corps.  Rushing  in  from  the 
hallway,  Larry  tore  this  long-disused  imple- 
ment from  its  hooks,  and  daslied  with  it  back 
into  the  equipment-room.  By  this  time  the 
flames  had  gained  a  fair  start,  and  the  blazing 
■woodwork  was  crackling  merrily,  while  the 
air  was  heavy  and  suffocating  from  the  smoke 
of  the  burning  oil  and  varnish. 

With  a  single  blow  of  the  axe  Larry  sent 
the  flimsy  locker-door  crashing  from  its 
hinges,  and  then,  stooping  down,  he  felt 
around  for  the  powder  can.  The  locker  was 
empty  ! 

"  Yah  !  yer  jay,'"  he  snarled  at  himself,  as 
the  smoke  choked  him ;  ''  yer  poor,  dam'  jay 
—  it's  de  Jiex'  one  !  "  and  he  snatched  up  the 
axe,  swung  it  again,  and  splintered  the  burn- 
ing door  of  the  adjoining  locker. 

This  time  he  hit  his  mark,  for  after  an  in- 
stant of  frantic  groping  in  the  thick  smoke, 
he  got  his  hands  upon  the  canister  and  flung 
it  far  from  him,  out  into  the  room  beyond. 
Then,  by  an  effort  almost  superhuman,  he 
dragged  out  the  heavy,  wooden  case  of  cart- 
ridges, staggered  with  it  through  the  flame 
and    smoke  —  and  fell  in  a  dead  faint  across 


TUE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  177 

it,  just  as  he  cleared  the  threshold.  And 
there,  not  five  seconds  later,  the  armorer 
found  him,  when  he  came  rushing  into  the 
room  with  a  line  of  stand-pipe  hose,  by, the 
agency  of  which  the  blaze  speedily  was  con- 
quered. 

Poor  little  major  !  His  hands  and  face  were 
cruelly  burned,  his  thick  crop  of  curly,  red 
hair  was  wofully  singed,  and  he  had  inhaled 
smoke  enough  to  demoralize  utterly  his  breath- 
ing-machinery. The  firemen  —  for  whom, 
upon  hearing  Larry's  shout  of  alarm,  the  ar- 
morer had  stopped  to  telephone  —  tenderly 
bore  the  lad  downstairs  to  the  staff -room ;  and 
just  before  the  first  of  "  A's  "  men  strolled 
into  the  building  an  ambulance  rolled  away 
from  the  door,  bearing  the  still  unconscious 
form  of  the  company  kid. 

Around  the  armory,  that  night,  conversa- 
tion was  carried  on  in  rather  quiet  tones,  and 
nobody  talked  much  except  of  Larry  and  his 
heroism.  As  soon  as  Stearns  came  in  he  was 
told  of  what  had  happened,  and  sending  im- 
mediately for  a  cab  he  drove  off  post-haste  to 
the  hospital,  leaving  his  lieutenants  to  receive 
his  Army  guest.  In  half  an  hour  he  was  back 
again,  with  word  that  Larry,  though  badly 


178  THE   SEVENTH   MAJOR. 

burned  and  in  great  pain,  was  in  no  immedi- 
ate danger  —  at  which  bit  of  news  there  came 
an  audible  sigh  of  relief  from  the  men  who 
had  crowded  around  him.  And  then  some 
one  sung  out  "  Hooray  !  "  and  the  rest  came 
in  with  a  shout  that  set  the  window  panes  to 
rattling. 

Lieutenant  Hackett  was  unfortunate  in  his 
audience  that  evening,  for  tlie  boys  —  though 
they  listened  with  studied  politeness  to  his 
remarks  —  had  something  else  upon  their 
minds.  But  he  got  as  much  applause  as  any 
one  could  wish,  when  —  at  the  close  of  his 
talk  —  he  said,  "  Congress  awards  a  IMedal  of 
Honor  to  those  in  the  Army  who  perform 
deeds  of  exceptional  bravery,  and  I  can  recall 
a  long  list  of  those  who  have  received  the 
decoration  ;  but  I  wish  to  say  that  I  can  call 
to  mind  no  instance  of  purer  grit  than  that 
displayed  today  by  your  unlucky  little  com- 
rade." 

It  certainly  seemed  a  long  time  before  Larry 
came  back  to  us,  but  one  night  he  turned  up 
in  our  midst,  as  happy  as  ever  and  nine  or  ten 
degrees  prouder  than  a  colonel  on  the  Gover- 
nor's staff  —  for  Stearns  had  fitted  him  out 
with  a  complete  drum-corps  uniform,  made 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  179 

expressly  for  him,  and  Colonel  Elliott  had  used 
his  influence  to  make  for  his  especial  benefit 
a  vacancy  at  the  advance-end  of  tlie  big 
drum.  The  affairs  of  the  regiment  ran  more 
smoothly  after  his  return,  and  I  can  remember 
the  change  in  the  aspect  of  "A's"  men  —  for 
Larry  was  himself  again,  and  funnier  than 
ever. 

But  there  was  still  more  glory  awaiting  him. 
About  two  weeks  after  he  had  "  re-joined,"  we 
had  a  battalion-drill  in  the  big  hall,  and  after 
it  a  dress  parade.  The  companies  had  got 
wind  of  what  was  coming,  and  the  ranks  were 
full.  It  was  Larry's  first  appearance  with 
the  drum-corps,  and  when  the  field  music 
"sounded-off"  along  the  line,  the  air  with 
which  he  stepped  out  lacked  little  of  being 
superb. 

The  adjutant  had  received  tlie  reports  and 
published  the  orders,  when  the  colonel,  in  a 
low  tone,  said  a  word  or  two  to  him  which 
caused  him  to  face  about  and  walk  along  the 
front  of  the  battalion  to  the  spot  where  Larry 
was  standing,  stiff  as  a  post,  among  the  musi- 
cians. In  a  moment  he  returned,  bringing 
the  bewildered  lad  with  him,  and  then  the 
colonel  stepped  a  pace  forward  to  meet  him, 


180  THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

and  pinned  upon  his  breast  a  bronze  Maltese 
cross,  inscribed : 

"A"  Co.,  3rd  Infantry 

TO 

garvvj     (Callahan 

FOE 

DISTINGUISHED   BRAVERY. 

And  beside  this  simple  decoration  he  fastened 
the  regimental  badge,  brilliant  ^ith  its  glit- 
tering gold  and  bright  enamel — a  tribute 
from  the  officers  of  the  field  and  staff. 

Of  course  tlie  colonel  made  a  little  speech, 
but  it  was  a  short  one  and  the  words  were 
simple.  As  lie  finished  he  shook  hands  with 
the  boj,  and  then  brought  the  battalion  to  a 
"  carry,"  after  wliich  he  called  out,  "  Present : 
arms  !  " 

Up  with  a  snap  came  the  long  line  of  rifles ; 
down  drooped  the  colors  until  their  golden 
fringes  touched  the  floor;  the  flashing  blades 
of  the  officers  rose  and  fell  —  and  little  Larry 
Callahan  had  ])ecn  saluted  by  the  crack  regi- 
ment of  the  Old  Commonwealth! 

"  Now,  adjutant,"  said  Colonel  Elliott,  when 
the  line  again  stood  at  attention,  "just  take 
Major  liarry  to  the  left  of  the  line  and  march 


THE  SEVENTH  MAJOR.  181 

him  along  the  front  to  the  right,  so  that  all  the 
men  can  see  him.  Chin  in,  Larry,  my  boy  — 
and  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip  !  " 

The  boy  said  never  a  word,  but  saluted  and 
then  started  off  with  the  adjutant.  For  a  time 
discipline  went  into  eclipse:  the  men  yelled 
"////  Hi!^^  and  thumped  their  rifle-butts 
upon  the  floor,  until  the  great  hall  shook  to 
its  very  foundations  —  while  the  officers  not 
only  neglected  to  check  the  uproar,  but  even 
went  so  far  as  to  help  in  swelling  it. 

Larry  stood  it  all  like  a  Spartan,  tramping 
along  with  eyes  to  the  front  and  head  well  up, 
until  he  came  abreast  of  the  center,  where  "A" 
stood  in  line,  with  the  colors.  But  here  he 
broke  down,  hid  his  face  behind  the  adjutant's 
arm,  and  sobbed  as  though  his  heart  would 
burst,  when  the  sixty  men  —  his  friends  and 
comrades,  every  one  of  them  —  broke  into 
a  wild  yell  of  applause  as  he  came  before 
them. 

Well,  that  ended  the  ovation ;  for  Captain 
Stearns,  seeing  at  a  glance  that  the  strain  had 
been  too  heavy  for  the  boy  to  bear,  raised  his 
hand  in  a  warning  gesture  to  his  men,  picked 
up  the  little  hero,  swung  him  up  upon  his 
shoulder,    and   marched   with    him    straight 


182  THE   SEVENTH  MAJOR. 

along  the  line  and  then  ont  of  the  hall,  leav- 
ing his  company  to  take  care  of  itself  as  best 
it  might.  And  yet,  so  far  as  my  knowledge 
goes.  Colonel  Elliott  never  has  taken  the 
slightest  notice  of  this  most  un-military  pro- 
ceeding of  the  captain's ! 


CONCERNING 


VALUE     OF    SLEEP 


CONCERNING 


VALUE     OF    SLEEP. 


OVER  the  mantel  in  Major  Pollard's 
smoking-room,  in  a  heavy,  elaborately 
carved  frame,  there  hangs  a  colored 
photogravure  of  De  Neiiville's  "  Une  Pi§ce 
en  Danger^''  that  terrible  group  —  outlined 
against  a  gray  background  of  battle-haze  — 
of  rearing,  plunging  horses,  and  of  fiercely 
fighting  German  cavalrymen  and  French 
gunners,  surging  in  desperate  struggle  around 
a  limbered  gun.  Many  a  time  I've  sat  and 
looked  up  at  it,  idly  wondering  -whether  the 
troop  of  Cuirassiers,  dimly  visible  in  the 
drifting  smoke  at  the  right,  would  come 
rushing  into  the  rumpus  in  time  to  save  the 
battered  handful  of  artillerymen  and  the 
piece  to  which  they  so  grimly  and  absurdly 


186  CONCERNING    THE 

cling.  But  all  this  is  neither  here  nor  there : 
for  the  picture  tells  its  own  story  —  while 
the  story  I  liave  in  mind  to  tell  is  quite 
another  one. 

It's  not  a  very  thrilling  story.  In  fact,  I 
doubt  if  it  will  have  much  interest  for  any 
one  outside  the  regiment ;  but  it  will  please 
Pollard  to  see  it  in  cold,  black  type,  and 
I'm  indebted  to  him  for  so  many  comfortable 
hours,  passed  in  the  fragrant  atmos])here  of 
that  same  smoking-room  of  his,  that  I  gladly 
take  this  opportunity  to  even  up  in  the  mat- 
ter of  obligations. 

It  so  happens  that  these  are  times  of  peace, 
and  —  though  there  are  a  few  of  us  who 
childishly  consider  that  the  very  peacef  ulness 
of  the  times  affords  a  most  excellent  oppor- 
tunity to  prepare  for  war  —  the  tranquillity 
of  everything  bids  fair  to  continue  undis- 
turbed. But  even  in  quiet  days  something 
in  the  blood  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  craves 
rivalry  and  contention,  and  so  from  year  to 
year  we  of  the  volunteers  get  together  and 
shoot — projecting  much  lead  at  remote  bulls- 
eyes,  in  order  to  find  out  who  are  the  most 
disgracefully  erratic  marksmen. 

Now,  in  these  days  the  soldier  who  cannot 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  187 

shoot  —  however  pleasing  to  the  eye  he  may 
be  —  is  of  no  earthly  sort  of  use.  Pollard 
can  shoot.  On  battalion  drill  he  sometimes 
may  find  himself  at  a  loss  for  just  the  proper 
command  ;  and  once,  in  earlier  days,  I  heard 
him  dh-ect  his  astonished  company  to  execute 
"  Right  forward,  fours  left  !  "  —  but  there  is 
no  denying  that  he  can  shoot. 

To  the  scroll-work  on  the  bottom  of  the 
great  carved  frame  enclosing  the  picture  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  there  is  fastened  a 
bevelled,  gilded  panel,  very  modestly  lettered 
in  black,  "  LAST  SHOT,  1890 :  "  and  this 
ideally  simple  inscription  commemorates  a 
shot  which  —  if  not  "  heard  'round  the 
world "  —  has  not  yet  ceased  to  be  remem- 
bered whenever,  in  the  company-rooms  of 
the  Third,  men  drift  into  rifle-talk. 

Pollard  was  not  always  a  major.  It  was 
only  last  October,  when,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  leaves  were  falling  freely,  that  two 
pairs  of  bright,  golden  ones  found  a  resting- 
place  upon  his  broad  shoulders.  Back  in 
'90,  he  was  captain  of  "M"  Company;  and 
one  night,  early  in  September  of  that  year, 
he  found  himself  badly  out  of  sorts  at  the 
news  that  one  of  the  best  men  on  his  com- 


188  CONCERNING    THE 

pany  rifle-team  liad  slipped,  fallen,  and  gone 
into  temporan'  retirement  with  a  broken 
wrist. 

"  It's  too  blistering  bad ! "  said  Pollard, 
as,  late  that  night,  he  stood  upon  the  steps 
of  the  armoiT  and  scowled  out  into  tlie 
darkness.  "  Even  with  Harvey  on  the  team, 
we  had  no  sure  thing  —  '  H  '  is  shootinsr  so 
like  sin! — but  now  I  don't  \ino\y  ^vhere  we 
are.  Well,  Johnny,  you'll  have  to  do  your 
cleverest,  and  perhaps  we'll  get  there  in 
spite  of  you." 

"  Thanks  !  "  said  the  younger  officer,  thus 
addressed.  "  You're  mighty  encouraging, 
aren't  you?  Well,  I've  always  said  that  I 
ought  to  have  been  put  on  the  team,  and 
to-morrow  I'll  prove  it.  Wow !  how  it 
blows  ! " 

"  Yes,  it's  breezy,"  assented  Pollard, 
listening  to  the  lively  rat-a-tat  played  by 
the  loose  flag-halliards  upon  the  tower-staff, 
"and  later  it'll  rain.  To-morrow,  though, 
"will  be  a  good  enough  day  ;  see  if  it  isn't. 
Come  along,  my  son,  it's  high  time  we  were 
getting  bedward." 

"  Now,  see  here,  Johnny,"  he  observed,  a 
moment   later,  stopping  at  the  head  of   the 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  189 

street,  "  I've  got  to  make  good  time  to  catch 
my  train,  but  I'll  pause  to  remark  that  you 
must  go  home  notv  !  Don't  color  any  pipes 
to-night ;  don't  take  a  pencil  and  go  to 
figuring  on  the  scores,  for  matches  aren't 
won  in  that  way ;  and  go  to  sleep  early. 
Sleep  is  the  all-important  thing,  and  without 
it  you'll  not  do  anything  to-morrow.  Got 
all  that  ?  Good-night,"  and,  tossing  to  his 
shoulder  the  rifle  he  carried,  he  rapidly 
strode  away. 

"  Humph  !  he  thinks  I  can't  hold  up  my 
end,"  thought  the  lieutenant,  glancing  at  the 
receding  figure  of  his  superior  ofiicer  ;  "  I'll 
show  him!  I'm  sorry  for  Harvey,  but  I'm 
inclined  to  think  that  his  place  will  be 
filled  tolerably  well.  Pollard's  right,  though, 
about  the  sleep  question.  I'd  like  to  play 
a  game  or  two  of  billiards,  but,"  heroically, 
"  but  —  I'll  go  home." 

Meanwhile  Pollard  was  hastening  towards 
his  train.  As  he  came  in  sight  of  the 
illuminated  clock-dial  upon  the  station  his 
rapid  walk  quickened  into  a  trot ;  and  the 
trot,  in  its  turn,  gave  place  to  a  run  when, 
as  he  passed  in  through  the  wide  doorway, 
he  heard  the  clang  of  the  last  gong.     How- 


190  CONCERNING    THE 

ever,  by  a  spirited  dash  down  the  long 
platform,  lie  caught  the  handrail  of  the 
last  car  in  the  moving  train,  and  swung 
liimself,  panting  hut  triumphant,  upon  tlie 
steps. 

''  Enemy  behind  us  ?  ""  inquired  the  brake- 
man,  pausing  in  his  task  of  knotting  the 
dangling  bell-cord,  and  glancing  down  at  the 
uniformed  ficrure  below  him. 

"Didn't  have  time  to  see,"  said  Pollard, 
laughing  at  the  aptness  of  the  question.  "I 
ran  without  waiting  to  find  out,"  and,  as 
the  train  swung  around  a  curve  and  rattled 
over  a  switch,  he  lurched  through  the  door- 
way, and  dropped  into  the  nearest  empty 
seat.  Fifteen  minutes  later  he  found  him- 
self at  his  destination,  and  leaving  behind 
him  the  oasis  of  brightness  formed  by  the 
lights  of  the  little  station  he  plunged  into 
the  desert  of  suburban  gloom  lying  bej^ond. 

It  certainly  was  not  a  cheerful  night  to  be 
abroad.  The  sky  was  black  as  a  hat,  and 
the  wind  swept  by  in  gusts  that  threatened 
to  extinguish  the  street  lamps  which,  at  rare 
intervals,  twinkled  along  the  lonely  way.  It 
was  early  in  September,  and  many  of  the 
houses  still  were  closed  ;  while  the  lateness  of 


VALJrE  OF  SLEEP.  191 

the  hour  made  those  that  were  occupied  seem 
dark  and  untenanted. 

Half  unconsciously  Pollard  began  to 
whistle  "  The  White  Cockade,"  and  his  step 
fell  as  naturally  into  the  cadence  of  the  air 
as  if  he  were  following  the  regimental  drum- 
corps.  A  short  walk  brought  him  to  his  own 
house,  —  standing  shadowy  and  silent  among 
the  surrounding  trees,  —  and,  dropping  upon 
the  floor  of  the  porch  the  butt  of  his  rifle,  he 
fumbled  in  his  pocket  for  his  keys.  He  threw 
open  the  door,  stepped  into  the  yawning 
blackness  of  the  unlighted  hall,  and  groped 
his  way  along  the  wall  to  the  electric  button 
which  should  light  the  chandelier.  He 
pressed  it,  but  no  blaze  of  light  followed  the 
sharp  click.  Once  more  he  touched  the 
button,  and  then,  when  again  the  light  failed 
to  respond,  cautiously  felt  his  way  along  the 
floor  until  he  stood  beneath  the  chandelier, 
and,  reaching  up  his  hand,  found  that  the  gas 
was  turned  off. 

"Hello!"  he  said  to  himself.  "That's 
funny  —  altogether  too  funny  !  I  certainly 
left  the  gas  turned  on,  ready  for  the  spark," 
and  instinctively  he  fell  back  a  pace,  and  then 
stepped  out  upon  the  porch. 


192  CON CEIi  XING    THE 

'■'■Did  I  leave  the  burner  like  that?"  he 
queried,  as  he  stood  peering  into  the  dense 
shadow  before  liim.  "Blessed  if  1  can  re- 
member! Somehow,  though,  it  seems  queer,' 
and,  unbuttoning  his  military  great-coat,  he 
slipped  his  hand  beneath  its  lapel  and  drew 
a  cartridge  from  the  canvas  belt  which  hung 
from  his  shoulder  diagonally  down  across 
his  chest. 

"I'm  not  sure  that  this  is  a  very  sandy 
proceeding,"'  he  thought,  pushing  home  the 
cartridge,  and  with  a  vicious  snap  locking 
behind  it  the  breech-block  of  his  rifle  ;  "but 
if  anybody's  in  the  house  Im  going  to  have 
an  even  sliow  with  him." 

Balancing  his  piece  in  his  left  hand,  he 
again  entered  the  hall,  turned  on  the  gas, 
touched  the  button,  and  when  the  jet  of 
flame  flared  up,  glanced  quickly  into  the 
empty  rooms  on  either  side.  All  was  as  he 
had  left  it  in  the  morning;  and  after  intently 
listening  for  a  moment  he  closed  and  bolted 
the  hall  door,  and  went  upstairs  to  his  own 
rooms. 

Once  in  the  room  he  called  his  Den,  he 
took  off  his  great-coat,  drew  the  cartridge 
from  his  rifle,  and  returned  it  to  its  place  in 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  193 

the  long  row  of  leaden-tipped,  shining  copper 
cylinders  in  his  ammunition-belt,  and  tossed 
the  belt  upon  the  lounge.  Then  he  went 
over  to  the  mantel,  picked  out  from  the  litter 
upon  it  a  short,  dark  brlarwood,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  comfort  himself  with  smoke. 

"  Humpli !  that  was  a  pretty  weak  exhi- 
bition," he  grunted,  stooping  over  to  unlace 
his  shoes.  "Come  to  think  of  it,  when  I 
went  out  this  morning  I  found  that  I'd  left 
the  light  burning  all  niglit,  and  —  I  remem- 
ber it  now  clearly  enough  —  turned  off  the 
gas  to  save  the  bother  of  going  over  to  punch 
the  button." 

He  tossed  aside  his  shoes,  put  on  a  pair  of 
easy  slippers,  and  lighted  a  candle.  "  May 
as  well  see  that  all's  tight,"  he  soliloquized, 
starting  on  a  tour  of  the  silent  house;  "here 
goes  for  '  grand  rounds ' !  It  is  lonesome, 
with  the  family  across  the  water.  Wish 
they'd  come  home !  Can't  say  I  blame  the 
servants  for  packing  up  and  leaving;  but 
mother'll  be  wild  when  she  gets  my  letter 
telling  that  they've  gone." 

From  room  to  room,  trying  the  fastenings 
of  doors  and  windows,  he  went  his  rounds. 
All  was  secure;    so,  pausing  on  his  way  to 


194  CONCERNING    THE 

touch  the  button  extinguisliing  the  hall  light, 
he  slowly  climbed  the  stairs  again,  locked 
the  door  of  his  Den,  and  with  a  yawn  flung 
himself  into  his  easy-chair. 

For  a  few  minutes  he  quietly  sat  thinking; 
then,  taking  from  his  pocket  a  ])encil,  he  be- 
gan to  jot  down  upon  the  back  of  an  old 
envelope  a  series  of  figures  —  his  estimate  of 
the  scores  likely  to  be  made  in  the  match  of 
the  morrow. 

"  Perhaps  we  can  pull  it  out/'  he  muttered, 
eying  the  columns  of  hgures  upon  the 
crumpled  bit  of  paper;  ^'•perhaps  we  can; 
but  it'll  be  cruelly  close  !  '  H  '  is  good  for 
almost  anything  up  to  five  points  over  centres, 
and  —  unless  I  can  get  more  than  I  think  I 
can  out  of  Johnny  —  we're  not  liable  to  run 
much  above  that.  Confound  Harvey  !  Why 
couldn't  he  pick  out  a  more  convenient  time 
for  breaking  himself  ?  " 

Here  Pollard  guiltily  started,  sprang  to  his 
feet,  and  hastily  began  to  throw  off  his  gar- 
ments, for  the  clock  in  the  hall  outside  had 
begun  to  sound  off  the  first  of  the  twelve 
slow  strokes  of  midnight.  "  I'm  better  at 
preaching  than  at  practising,"  he  thought, 
grinning  at  the  remembrance  of  his  parting 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  195 

injunctions  to  his  junior  ;  "  I've  broken  two- 
thirds  of  the  rules  I  kiid  down  for  Johnny. 
Well,  I'm  an  old  hand  at  this  business,  and 
even  if  I've  wasted  a  half-hour  or  so  I  shall 
get  enough  sleep  to  put  me  into  shape,"  with 
which  consoling  reilectiou  he  took  a  long, 
parting  pull  at  his  pipe,  shook  the  ashes  from 
it,  put  out  the  light  in  the  Den,  and  went 
into  his  bedroom  adjoining. 

Taking  a  revolver  from  the  drawer  of  the 
bureau,  he  tucked  it  under  his  pillow ;  and 
after  locking  the  door,  leading  from  the  cham- 
ber into  the  hall,  kicked  his  slippers  across 
the  room,  finished  his  disrobing,  and  tumbled 
into  bed.  "  There  it  comes  !  "  he  drowsily 
murmured,  as  a  stronger  gust  of  wind  was 
followed  by  a  few  scattering  drops,  and  then 
by  a  driving  dash  of  rain.  "  Well,  it'll  rain 
itself  out  before  morning  ;  to-morrow's  got  to 
be  a  good  day.  H'm !  it's  pretty  quiet  out 
here !  I'm  sick  and  tired  of  this  suburban 
business  ;  think  I'll  have  to  set  up  bachelor- 
rooms  in  town,  after  the  family  gets  back." 
And  with  this  resolve  —  which  he  later  carried 
into  effect — he  fell  asleep,  with  the  fingers 
of  one  hand  lightly  and  comfortably  resting 
upon  the  butt  of  his  pistol. 


196  CONCERNING    THE 

For  more  tlian  an  hour  the  raui  fell  heavily; 
tlien,  as  suddenly  as  it  had  begun,  it  ceased. 
With  it  the  wind  died  away,  leaving  a  silence 
so  intense  tliat  when  the  hall  clock  gave  out 
two  resonant  strokes  the  sound  echoed  and 
reechoed  through  the  house.  Ten  minutes 
later  the  deep  quiet  was  broken  by  a  sharp 
crack,  as  of  splintering  wood,  and  then,  for 
a  time,  all  again  was  still. 

Now,  Pollard  sleeps  lightly,  and  the  unusu- 
al sound,  insignificant  though  it  was,  started 
him  up  upon  his  elbow,  with  eyes  wide  open 
and  ears  strained  to  catch  the  slightest  creak 
or  jar.  Three  minutes  passed.  He  was  about 
to  relax  his  motionless  position  of  listening, 
when  there  came  to  his  ear  a  muffled  noise 
that  made  him  slij)  cautiously,  revolver  in 
hand,  from  bed. 

"  Shoving  up  a  sash,  by  thunder  !  "  he  said 
to  himself.  "  It's  lucky  that  I  came  out,  in- 
stead of  going  to  a  hotel  as  I  thought  of 
doing.     Let's  see  what's  going  on." 

He  crept  to  the  door,  pressed  his  ear  to  the 
thin  panel,  and  listened  ;  but  after  a  few  sec- 
onds he  straightened  up,  and  disgustedly  ad- 
dressed himself  thus  :  "  See  here,  Pollard  — 
Captain  Pollard  !  —  what  sort  of  soldier  are 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  197 

you  ?  Your  heart's  thumjjing  so  tliat  you 
can't  hear  anything  else,  and  your  knees  arc 
about  as  near  wobbling  as  they  well  can  be 
without  doing  it !  I  know  you're  not 
afraid —  but  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?" 
Again  he  put  his  ear  to  the  door,  and  this 
time  distinctly  heard  from  below  sounds 
which  plainly  indicated  that  some  one  was  at 
work  in  the  dining-room. 

"  Now,  I'd  give  something,"  thought  the 
silent  listener  at  the  door,  "  to  know  just  how 
ray  side  of  this  campaign  ought  to  be  con- 
ducted. In  the  first  place,  I'd  be  a  heap 
sight  more  courageous  if  I  had  on  my  trousers 
and  shoes.  I'm  no  Highlander  ;  I'm  just  an 
ordinary  citizen-soldier  —  and  if  I've  got  to 
go  into  action  I'd  much  prefer  to  form  for  the 
attack  in  less  light-marching-order  than  this. 
But  if  I  leave  the  door  —  confound  it  all !  — 
I'll  lose  touch  with  the  enemy.  I  want  my 
clothes,  but  I  must  know  what's  being  done 
down  there." 

Still  keeping  to  his  post  at  the  door  he  noise- 
lessly cocked  and  uncocked  his  weapon,  in 
order  to  make  sure  that  the  cylinder  freely 
revolved.  Below,  for  a  moment,  all  was  quiet ; 
then  came  a  sound  which  Pollard  interpreted 


198 


CONCERNING    THE 


to  be  the  metallic  clink  of  hastily  gathered 
silverware.  ''  That'll  keep  'em  busy  for  a 
moment,"  he  thought,  leaving  the  door,  "and 
I'll  have  time  to  put  on  my  armor.  Tlure 
isn't  much  stuff  in  the  sideboard  —  only  a  few 
spoons  and  forks.  Lucky  that  we  sent  the  bulk 
of  the  silver  in  to  the  vaults !  Here  are  my 
trousers  —  and  here's  one  sli})per  —  where  in 
glory's  the  mate  to  it  ?  Oh,  if  I  only  find  it 
I'll  make  a  vow  to  put  my  foot-gear,  after 
this,  under  my  pillow  every  night !  "  For  an 
instant  longer  he  cautiously  pawed  around  in 
the  darkness,  but  the  missing  slipper  refused 
to  be  found,  and  so,  half-shod,  he  crept  back 
to  the  door  to  resume  his  listening. 

The  startled  feeling  that  had  come  upon 
him  when  so  suddenly  awakened  had  gone, 
and  he  was  perfectly  cool  and  determined. 
"Well,  what's  the  next  move?"  he  asked 
himself,  as  he  stood  listening  to  the  faint 
sounds  below.  "  So  long  as  I  stay  here  I'm 
safe  enough,  but  it  seems  a  trifle  white- 
feathery  to  let  'em  have  full  swing  clown 
there,  without  lifting  a  finger  to  spoil  their 
sport.  Of  course  I  can  scare  'em  out  of  the 
house  easily  enough  —  a  couple  of  thumps 
on  the  floor  would  do  it  —  but  I  want  a  shot 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  199 

for  my  money.  What  sort  of  good  were  old 
Bones'  '  Emergency  Lectures '  ?  1  went  to  'em 
all,  last  winter,  and  yet  here's  an  emergency 
—  and  I  don't  know  exactly  what  to  do  with 
it!" 

For  a  time  there  had  been  a  cessation  in 
the  noises  below  stairs,  but  suddenly  Pollard 
became  aware  of  stealthy  footfalls,  and  then 
the  stairs  lightly  creaked  under  an  ascending 
tread. 

"  They're  coming  up  ! "'  he  said  to  himself; 
"  more  than  one  of  'em,  too  —  I  can  tell  by 
the  sound  !  Well,  this  campaign's  planned 
itself  out  nowc  I'm  going  to  hght  on  inside 
lines,"  and  gently  disengaging  his  slippered 
foot  from  its  encumbrance,  he  stole  barefooted 
into  the  outer  room,  and  took  his  station  at 
the  door. 

"  Now,  this  is  going  to  be  almost  too  easy  ; 
and  all  because  the  inspired  architect  wlio 
planned  this  house  saw  fit  to  locate  a  push- 
button in  the  wall,  just  outside  !  "  thought 
Pollard,  as  there  came  to  his  ear  a  subdued 
whispering  which  indicated  that  the  intruders 
had  reached  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  had 
paused  for  a  short  consultation,  '-ril  just 
try  a  pot-shot  at  these  gentlemen  from  inside 


200  CONCERNING    THE 

here;  and  then  —  when  they  break  for  down- 
stairs—  step  out,  touch  up  the  hglit  in  the 
lower  hall,  and  halt  "em  where  they  stand," 

Softly  falling  back  a  couple  of  paces,  he 
pointed  his  pistol  towards  the  door,  and  fued. 
In  the  confined  air  of  the  closed  room  the 
report  was  deafening,  and  Pollard's  ears  rang 
meriily,  when  —  taking  it  for  granted  that  his 
visitors  must  be  in  full  retreat  —  he  sprang 
to  open  the  door  and  jmt  into  execution  the 
remaining  part  of  his  plan  of  operations. 
In  clumsy  haste  he  groped  in  the  darkness 
for  the  key  ;  but  at  that  instant  a  shot  rang 
out  in  the  hall,  and  a  bullet  tore  its  way 
through  the  panel  of  the  door  and  embedded 
itself  in  the  opposite  wall,  making  a  most 
unexpected  interruption  in  the  programme 
that  he  had  laid  out  for  himself  to  follow. 

"  Stay  where  y'  are  —  d^  yer  hear  ?  —  stay 
w^here  y'  are,"  commanded  a  hoarse  voice  from 
without,  "while  w^e're  gettia'  clear,  or  I'll 
blow  yer  blasted  head  off,  yer  —  "  here  came 
a  burst  of  abusive  profanity  that  sent  Pollard's 
blood  to  the  boiling-point. 

"  All  right ;  but  get  out  lively!  "  said  he, 
still  keeping  his  hand  upon  the  key,  but 
swingfiner  to  one  side  in  order  to  be  out  of 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  201 

direct  range  of  the  frail  door.  At  the  words, 
a  second  bullet  came  splintering  through  the 
Wood,  as  if  to  give  emphasis  to  the  remarks 
which  so  had  annoyed  liim,  and  then  there 
followed  a  noisy  rush  of  feet  down  the 
stairs. 

Without  an  instant's  hesitation  Pollard 
wrenched  open  the  door,  jumped  into  the 
hall,  and  calling,  "  Up  with  your  hands  ! " 
set  ablaze  the  gas  in  the  chandelier  below. 
Midway  of  the  stairs,  as  he  stood  in  the 
shadow  of  the  upper  landing,  he  saw  the  two 
marauders,  who  had  been  checked  in  their 
flight  by  the  unexpected  burst  of  light. 

"Come  —  up  with  those  hands I^''  said  Pol- 
lard sternly,  levelling  his  weapon,  "  or  I'll 
blow  your  blasted  —  "  but  the  sentence  was 
left  incomplete,  for  with  cat-like  swiftness 
one  of  the  men  turned  and  fired  at  him. 
But  Pollard,  heavily  built  though  he  is,  can 
be  quickness  itself  when  occasion  demands, 
and  at  the  flash  of  the  other's  revolver  his 
own  weapon  spoke  sharply,  sending  a  cruel 
bit  of  lead  ploughing  its  way  through  flesh 
and  sinew  and  bone.  With  a  gasp  of  pain 
the  man  at  whom  he  had  fired  reeled  over 
against  the  balusters,  and,  as  his  shattered 


202  CONCERNING    THE 

arm  fell  helplessly  at  his  side,  his  smoking 
pistol  dropped  from  his  grasp  and  went 
clattering  down  the  stairway. 

"Have  you  got  enough?"  said  Pollard, 
swinging  over  his  weapon,  and  covering  the 
unwounded  burglar.  "There's  more  of  the 
same  sort  where  tliat  came  from  —  if  you 
want  it! " 

^'•Donf  shoot  again  /"  said  the  second  man, 
throwing  up  his  hands.     "  We  give  in  !  " 

"Thereby  showing  more  sense  than  you've 
shown  yet,"  returned  the  barefooted  master 
of  the  situation,  coming  forward  a  few  steps. 
"  Now,  listen  to  me.  Take  your  pal  down  to 
that  big  leather  chair  in  the  corner  of  the  hall 
—  and  don't  make  any  fatal  mistake  by  try- 
ing to  pick  up  that  gun  on  the  stairs!  " 

"  And  now,"  he  went  on,  following  the 
doleful  procession  downstairs,  "get  his  coat 
off,  and  see  how  badly  he's  hit.  Bone's 
broken,  eh?  H'ra!  that's  pretty  bad  !  Well, 
get  to  work  to  stop  the  bleeding ;  1*11  tell  you 
how,"  and  under  his  directions  the  wounded 
arm  was  bandaged  up  in  a  rough,  though 
effective  fashion. 

"And  what'll  I  do  with  you  notv?""  said 
Pollard    reflectively,    as    he    stood    looking 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  203 

at  the  two  crestfallen  intruders.  "  What's 
that?  '  I  shot  first ! '  Well,  that's  so  ;  but  I 
also  shot  last  —  and  best.  It's  no  use  ;  IVe 
got  to  turn  you  over,  much  as  I  dislike  to 
do  it." 

Here  there  came  heavy  footsteps  upon  the 
porch  outside,  followed  by  a  sharp  pull  at 
the  door-bell,  and  Pollard,  keeping  one  eye 
upon  his  two  bad  men,  edged  to  the  door 
and  opened  it. 

"Come  in,"  he  said  politely,  as  he  caught 
the  glitter  of  a  policeman's  buttons  ;  "  come 
in  ;  but  don't  feel  obliged  to  club  me.  In 
fact,  you  needn't  club  anybody  ;  the  row's 
all  over,  and  we're  all  friends  here." 

"  I'd  have  been  here  sooner,"  said  the 
panting  patrolman,  reaching  into  his  pocket 
for  his  handcuffs,  "  only  when  I  heard  the 
shooting  I  ran  to  the  box,  and  rang  in  the 
wagon-call.  The  team'll  be  along  in  a  min- 
ute. Well,  you've  done  a  good  job  here, 
sir,  and  I  guess  you  didn't  need  much  help 
about   it,  judging  by  the    looks  of    things." 

"No,  I  suppose  I  didn't,"  admitted  Pollard, 
shivering  slightly  as  the  damp  air  of  the 
early  morning  found  its  way  through  the 
thin,  white  garment  which  modestly  draped 


204  CONCERNING    THE 

the  upper  portion  of  his  person  ;  "  I  daresay 
1  didn't ;  but  ten  minutes  ago,  all  the  same, 
I  wouldn't  have  refused  a  small  amount  of 
assistance  Br-r-r  !  Chilly,  isn't  it  ?  If  you'll 
stay  here  and  entertain  my  guests  for  me, 
I'll  run  upstairs  for  a  minute  and  throw  on 
some  more  cloth." 

Stooping  to  pick  up  the  burglar's  revolver, 
which  still  lay  where  it  had  fallen  upon  the 
stairs,  he  ran  up  to  his  room,  struck  a  light, 
and  without  bothering  over  the  matter  of 
hosiery,  slipped  on  his  shoes.  Then  he  strug- 
gled into  his  warm,  military  coat,  lighted  a 
cigar,  and  descended  to  the  hall,  just  in  time 
to  hear  the  rapid  beat  of  hoofs  and  the 
crunching  sound  of  wheels  that  told  of  the 
patrol-wagon's   approach. 

In  a  few  minutes  more  all  was  over  ;  Pol- 
lard had  told  his  story  to  the  officers  and  the 
few  excited  neighbors  who  had  ventured  out 
to  investigate  the  cause  of  the  tumult,  and  the 
wagon  had  rumbled  away  with  its  two  un- 
willing passengers  and  their  guards. 

"  Well,  that's  over  with  and  out  of  the 
way,"  said  Pollard  to  himself,  after  he  had 
made  secure  the  window  through  which,  by 
forcing  off  the  catch,  the  burglars  had  gained 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  205 

entrance  i  "  out  of  the  way  for  the  present, 
at  least :  to-morrow,  I  suppose,  I'll  have  to 
go  through  all  manner  of  fuss  at  the  sta- 
tion—  and  later  I'll  be  summoned  to  court 
to  help  jug  those  poor  devils  for  ten  years 
or  so  apiece.  Confound  'em  !  why  couldirt 
they  have  gone  to  some  house  where  the 
people  were  away,  instead  of  stirring  me 
up?" 

He  yawned,  and  slowly  made  his  way  up 
to  his  Den,  pausing  for  a  minute  to  inspect 
the  perforated  panels  of  the  door.  Of  the 
three  holes  in  the  woodwork,  two  were  clean- 
cut  and  smooth,  showing  that  the  lead  had 
gone  through  from  without;  the  third,  ragged 
and  surrounded  by  splinters,  told  of  the  shot 
that  he  had  fired. 

"  I'll  have  to  get  that  door  patched  up  be- 
fore mother  comes  home,"  he  reflected,  as  he 
passed  into  the  room,  "  or  she'll  have  a  most 
awful  attack  of  nerves  when  she  sees  it. 
Hello  !  it's  well  along  towards  three  o'clock, 
and  —  Great  Jupiter's  thunderbolts  !  I'd  for- 
gotten about  that  match  ! " 

He  dropped  into  a  chair,  and  stared  blankly 
at  the  carpet.  How  on  earth  could  he  man- 
age to  be  in  two  places  at  once?     He  had 


206  CONCERNING    THE 

promised  to  report  in  the  morning  at  the  po- 
lice-station, and  yet  he  must  leave  town  on 
an  early  train  with  his  company  team ! 

"  Phew  !  I  am  let  in  for  it !  "  he  thought. 
"Here's  another  'emergency'  not  provided 
against  in  Bones'  lectures.  I've  ordered  the 
team  to  report  to  me  at  eight  o'clock,  and  if 
I  go  over  to  see  the  police  I  can't  get  to  the 
armor}^  in  time.  On  the  other  hand,  if  I  fail 
to  show  up  at  the  station  I'll  more  than  likely 
succeed  in  mixing  myself  up  in  some  unholy 
legal  mess.  Now,  hozv  can  I  surround  the 
situation  ?  " 

It  certainly  was  a  perplexing  problem : 
but  Pollard  is  not  of  those  who  are  prodigal 
of  time  in  the  making  up  of  their  minds,  and 
his  decision  was  reached  in  short  order. 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  law, "  said  he 
to  himself,  as  for  the  second  time  that  night 
he  pulled  off  his  shoes;  "but,  for  the  present, 
the  police  will  have  to  go  to  Halifax  I  Perhaps 
I'm  showing  contempt  of  court,  or  something 
else  of  the  sort  that  will  get  me  into  calamity. 
I  can't  help  it  if  I  am  !  I'm  going  out  with  the 
team,  even  if  I  land  in  jail  for  doing  it.  Lord ! 
I'm  in  fine,  fat  form  for  shooting  !  To-morrow'U 
find    me  —  to-day  II   find    me,    I    mean  —  as 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  207 

nervous  as  a  Salem  witch,"  and  groaning  dis- 
mally at  his  hard  luck,  he  hunted  up  an  alarm- 
clock,  set  it  for  an  early  hour,  and  prepared 
to  snatch  what  little  sleep  he  yet  might  be 
able  to  get. 

With  a  vivid  recollection  of  recent  experi- 
ences he  carefully  assembled  his  slippers  at 
the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  then  crawled  beween 
the  sheets.  "  I  must'nt  let  the  boys  know  any- 
thing about  this,"  he  reflected,  as  he  lay  wait- 
ing for  sleep  to  come  to  him  ;  "it  would  break 
'em  up.  Let  me  see,  the  morning  papers  go 
to  press  somewhere  about  two  o'clock,  so  the 
story  can't  leak  out  in  that  way.  Well,  it's 
tolerably  certain  that  I'm  out  of  the  race.  It 
would  take  a  wooden  man  to  go  through  a 
night  like  this  without  getting  the  quivers. 
I'll  be  satisfied  if  I  can  put  my  ten  shots  any- 
where on  the  target." 

Rolling  over  upon  his  side  he  closed  his 
eyes,  murmuring,  "  Glad  I  winged  that  fellov/, 
after  all ;  he  did  his  best  to  lay  me  out,  and 
his  remarks  were  extremely  ungentlemanly. 
Take  it  all  together,  it  was  a  pretty  lively 
fray  while  it  lasted.  Can't  say  I'd  care  to  go 
through  another  like  it — not  just  yet,  any- 
way." 


208  CONCERNING    THE 

After  an  hour  of  turning  and  tossing,  Pol- 
lard succeeded  in  dropping  into  a  troubled 
sort  of  doze  ;  but,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  he 
hardly  had  lost  consciousness  when  the  mer- 
ciless little  bell  of  the  alarm-clock  began  to 
rattle  out  its  diabolical  reveille,  compelling 
him,  heavy-eyed  and  in  a  most  villainous 
frame  of  mind,  to  struggle  out  from  beneath 
the  tangled  bedclothes.  A  plunge  into  a 
tub  of  cold  water  did  something  towards 
freshening  him  up  a  bit,  but  when  he  buckled 
on  his  ammunition-belt  and  lucked  up  his 
rille  he  swore  softly  to  himself  at  the  day's 
prospect.  However,  a  quick  walk  in  the 
crisp  air  of  the  September  morning  sent  the 
blood  jumping  cheerfully  through  his  veins; 
and  after  he  had  made,  at  an  in-town  liotel,  a 
halt  lonG:  enough  for  the  total  destruction  of 
a  thick  and  generous  tenderloin  of  steak,  he 
strode  over  to  the  armory  in  a  more  confident 
mood. 

And  the  match?  Well,  it  was  much  like 
a  hundred  other  matches  that  have  been  shot 
over  the  same  stretch  of  level,  close-cropped 
greensward  :  but  "IF'  shot  like  sin,  and  it  was 
a  cruelly  close  thing  —  as  Pollard  had  thought 
it  would  be — from  the   time  when   the  first 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  209 

bullet  was  sent  singing  on  its  way  towards 
the  distant  targets,  until  the  last  disk  had 
been  pushed  up  from  the   marking-pit. 

According  to  his  custom,  Pollard  coached 
his  team  until,  except  himself,  all  had  fired  ; 
then,  with  a  coolness  at  which  he  found  him- 
self wondering,  he  took  his  place  at  the  firing- 
point  and  prepared  to  shoot  his  own  score. 
Shot  by  shot  the  sergeant  at  the  blackboard 
chalked  up  the  results :  three  centres ;  a 
bullseye ;  another  lone  centre ;  two  more 
bullets  in  the  black  ;  a  fifth  centre  ;  a  fourth 
bullseye  —  and  one  shot  yet  to  be  fired ! 

With  his  eyes  upon  the  target.  Pollard  was 
slipping  a  cartridge  into  the  chamber  when 
he  felt  a  touch  upon  his  sleeve,  and  turning, 
saw  Lieutenant  Johnny,  flushed  with  excite- 
ment, standing  beside  him.  "  Polly,"  whis- 
pered the  youth,  with  utter  forgetfulness  of 
rank  and  title,  "  Polly,  '  H  '  has  finished  !  Fd 
never  think  of  doing  this  with  anybody  be- 
sides you  —  but,  to  win,  you'll  have  to  get  a 
'bull.'  A  'four'  isn't  going  to  do  the 
trick,  for  we'd  be  outranked  on  a  tie.  Yo^c've 
got  to  land  in  the  black  !  " 

."Yes?"  said  the  captain,  dryly.  "Well, 
Johnny,  fall  back  —  the  gun  miglit  explode, 


210  CONCERNING    THE 

you  know,"  and  with  a  last  glance  at  the 
drooping  wind-flags,  he  stiffened  himself 
into  position,  gently  lined  the  sights  upon  the 
far-off  speck  of  black,  and  fired. 

For  five  breathless  seconds,  while  the 
little  puff  of  pungent  smoke  lazily  floated 
away,  there  was  silence ;  and  then,  when 
the  white  disk  went  slowly  creeping  up 
over  the  face  of  the  target  to  find  its  rest- 
ing-place upon  the  bull's  eye,  there  came 
from  the  watching  men  of  ''  M "  a  sharp 
gasp  of  relief,  followed  by  an  exultant  yell 
of  victory. 

"  Steady  !  "  commanded  Pollard,  swinging 
around  upon  his  heel.  "  What's  the  matter 
with  you,  boys?  Do  you  want  to  make 
people  think  we've  never  won  before?"  and, 
bending  over  to  pick  up  his  lightened  car- 
tridge belt,  he  walked  towards  the  tents. 

Late  that  afternoon,  as  the  members  of 
Pollard's  team  sat  together  in  the  smoker, 
on  their  way  back  to  town,  a  newsboy 
entered  the  car.  Pollard  beckoned  him  to 
his  side,  bought  an  afternoon  paper,  and 
after  rapidly  running  his  eye  down  the 
columns  of  the  outer  page,  handed  the  sheet 
to  his  lieutenant. 


VALUE  OF  SLEEP.  211 

"  Holy  Smoke  !  "  said  that  young  man, 
catching  a  glimpse  of  the  bold  type  heading 
the  story  of  his  captain's  night  adventure, 
"  Is  that  the  way  you  slept  last  night  ? 
Well,  I'll  be— " 

"  You'll  be  asked  to  '  send  in  your  papers,' 
Johnny,"  interrupted  Pollard,  with  an  awful 
yawn,  "  if  you  ever  again  speak  to  me  when 
I'm  at  the  firing-point  in  a  match.  You 
came  pretty  close  to  queering  my  score  for 
me,  this  afternoon.  Yes,  that's  the  way  I 
slept  last  night,  and  I  think  I'm  beginning 
to  feel  it  a  trifle,"  whereat  he  again  yawned, 
and  then  settled  himself  more  comfortably 
upon  the  dusty  cushions  of  the  seat. 

Well,  that's  all  there  is  to  the  story. 
About  the  picture  in  Pollard's  smoking- 
room  ?  Oh,  the  men  of  his  team  gave  that 
to  him,  thinking  that  he  would  like  to  have 
something  by  which  to  remember  the  clev- 
erest shot  he  ever  fired.  Over  in  the  big 
armor}'-,  in  the  company-room  of  "  M,"  there 
hangs  another  picture,  just  like  that  one  — 
the  trophy  awarded  by  the  Commonwealth 
to  the  team  winning  the  championship  of 
the  regiment. 


RARK  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Wilmer 
477 


